Police Busts International Human Trafficking Racket in Jharkhand's Hazaribag, Arrests 5

PTI, August 02, 2025, Hazaribag  :   Police on Saturday busted an international human trafficking racket allegedly involved in duping people out of money with false promises of sending them to the USA, with the arrest of five individuals, including the mastermind, in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district, an officer said.

The racket was exposed after one Sonu Kumar, a resident of Bharjo village under Tatijharia police station of the district, filed a police complaint on July 30, the officer added.

In his complaint, Sonu Kumar accused Udai Kumar Kushwaha, a businessman with connections to America, of sending him to Brazil in 2024 through the "dunky route" with false documents and a promise to arrange a job in the USA.

The accused had also made similar promises to Vikash Kumar and Pintu Kumar, both residents of Jarga village under Daru police station of Hazaribag, and sent them to Brazil separately via Delhi, the Hazaribag district police said in a statement.

Upon reaching Brazil, Sonu Kumar alleged that all three were handed over to human traffickers who tried to smuggle them into the USA through the dunky route, passing through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala, the statement said.

The complainant said they were kept in captivity by the traffickers, and Kushwaha made a call to Sonu Kumar's father, demanding money for their release. Under duress, Sonu Kumar's father sold his paternal land and made payments to Kushwaha's relatives through various channels.

Sonu Kumar was eventually caught at the USA border and sent to a detention center after being taken to the USA via Mexico City and San Diego. He spent four months in detention before being deported back to India in March 2025, the statement added.

Upon his return, Sonu Kumar reported that Kushwaha and his brother Chohan Prasad had verbally abused and assaulted him, even threatening to kill him when he demanded they return the money, prompting him to register a police complaint.

Following the case, Superintendent of Police Anjani Anjan formed a special raid team, led by Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Bishnugarh) Baijnath Prasad, to take necessary action and apprehend the culprits.

The team arrested five people, including the mastermind, Kushwaha, and seized his mobile phone, which had been used to communicate with Sonu Kumar's father over WhatsApp. Police also confiscated bank deposit receipts from Kushwaha's wife, along with a list of people sent via the dunky route and records of money collected from them.

Additionally, the police gathered a list of 12 other individuals who had been sent to America between 2013 and 2022. Of these, eight were sent in 2022, two in 2019, and one each in 2013 and 2018.

Further raids are ongoing to apprehend other individuals involved in the racket, police said.