Hazaribag, Aug 2 (PTI) Police on Saturday busted an international human trafficking racket allegedly involved in duping people of money with false promises to send them to USA, with the arrest of five people, including the mastermind in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag district, an officer said.
Police busted the racket 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 said.
In the police complaint, Sonu Kumar had accused Udai Kumar Kushwaha, who has been doing business in America, of sending him to Brazil in 2024 through ‘dunky route’ with false documents and promise to arrange a job in USA.
Besides, the accused had also made a similar promise to arrange a job in USA 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, Hazaribag district police said in a statement.
On reaching Brazil, Sonu Kumar alleged that all three of them were handed over to human traffickers, who clandestinely tried to take them to USA through dunky route via Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, the statement said.
The complainant said they were kept under the captivity of the mafia, and Kushwaha made a call to Sonu Kumar’s father and demanded money.
Compelled under pressure, Sonu Kumar’s father sold his paternal land and gave money to Kushwaha’s relatives in different modes of payment, the statement said.
Sonu Kumar said he was caught at the USA border and forwarded to a detention center after he was taken to USA via Mexico City and San Diego.
He had spent four months in a detention center before he was deported back to India in March 2025, the statement said.
After returning home, Sonu Kumar said Kushwaha and his brother Chohan Prasad had abused and assaulted him, even threatened to kill him when he demanded that they return the money, forcing him to register a police complaint.
Soon after the case was lodged, Superintendent of Police Anjani Anjan formed a special raid team headed by Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Bishnugarh) Baijnath Prasad to initiate necessary action and apprehend the culprits.
The team arrested five people, including the mastermind, Kushwaha, in the course of the investigation.
Police also seized Kushwaha’s mobile phone with which he had chatted with Sonu Kumar’s father over WhatsApp, his wife’s bank deposit receipts, list of persons sent through dunky routes and details of money collected from them.
The police collected a list of 12 other people sent to America between 2013 and 2022. Of the 12, eight were sent in 2022, two in 2019 and one each in 2013 and 2018.
Police said further raids were on to apprehend others involved in the racket. PTI COR BS RG
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