Acting on a tip-off, the Gujarat Police finally arrested Bharat alias Bobby Patel, late Monday night. Better known as the Dingucha kingpin of the immigration racket, Patel (47), was nabbed from the Bhadaj area of Ahmedabad when he allegedly arrived to meet his ailing partner.
Police insiders briefed on how his movement was being watched by a team of the state monitoring cell. “When we received news that he was at the house in Bhadaj, our team rushed to the spot,” shared an officer.
The racketeer was in spotlight ever since the fateful end of the Gujarati family of four along the US-Canada border earlier this year in January. It may be recalled that Canadian police found Jadgish Patel (35), wife Vaishali (33) and their children Vihanaga (12) and Dharmik (3) frozen to death in an empty field on January 19. They died just 12 m from the US border.
Patel is considered among the most notorious illegal immigration agents in Gujarat. He holds 28 “legally” issued passports, some even containing his biometric information. “Minor details were altered to secure the multiple passports issued from different RPOs, including Mumbai and Ahmedabad. He used these to slip in and out of the country,” added the police officer.
A Dingucha native, Patel, started by doing odd jobs in the village. Today, his migrants smuggling racket to the US goes via Turkey and Mexico. It is believed to be the most “credible” of all such enterprises that thrive in Gujarat. There is evidence pointing at his network’s base having expanded to Delhi, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
The investigating officer further shared: “Bharat Patel is suspected of having helped 1,500 people from north Gujarat obtain passports with fake credentials. His name first came under scanner during an investigation into the IELTS paper scam. We also suspect he is behind the six migrants who were rescued by US authorities after their boat capsized while illegally crossing the St Regis River along the Canada-US border.”
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