Modi govt will continue its zero-tolerance approach toward illegal immigration: Amit Shah on NIA's action against human traffickers

New Delhi [India], November 9 : A day after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 44 people across the country in its simultaneous raids at 55 places in 10 states busting five international human trafficking modules, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday lauded the operation conducted by the agency and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi government will continue its "zero-tolerance approach toward illegal immigration".
The Minister also said that the Modi government is committed to shielding the nation from the menace of illegal immigration.
Taking to 'X', formerly Twitter, Shah informed how the NIA operation against human traffickers led the arrest of 44 operatives.
"Pursuing PM @narendramodi Ji's vision of a secured Bharat, the NIA has busted five international human trafficking modules.The operation, carried out simultaneously across ten states, resulted in 44 arrests. Congratulations to team NIA. The Modi government will continue with its zero-tolerance approach toward illegal immigration and is committed to shielding the nation from this menace," Shah posted on 'X'.
In a big blow to human trafficking networks, the NIA on Wednesday conducted a comprehensive operation at 55 locations across 10 states and Union Territories (UTs) and apprehended 44 operatives in four human trafficking cases.
The counter-terror agency conducted these searches on Wednesday morning in close coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF) and state police forces.
Following registration of four human trafficking cases at the NIA branches in Guwahati, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur, the anti-terror agency conducted simultaneous and synchronised raids and searches at a total of 55 locations across Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana,Rajasthan, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Puducherry.
Of the total 44 operatives apprehended and arrested by the NIA include 21 from Tripura, 10 from Karnataka, five from Assam, three from West Bengal, two from Tamil Nadu and one each from Puducherry Telangana and Haryana.
During the searches, the NIA recovered digital devices, such as mobile phones, SIM cards, and pen drives; a significant number of identity-related documents, including Aadhar cards and Pan Cards, suspected to be forged; Indian currency notes with a total value exceeding Rs 20 lakhs; and foreign currency amounting to 4550 USD.
The operation aimed at dismantling illegal human trafficking support networks involved in infiltration and settlement of illegal migrants across the Indo-Bangladesh border into India.
As per the NIA, the arrested accused individuals will be presented before the respective jurisdictional courts, and that further investigations into the activities and modus operandi of these illegal human trafficking networks would continue to dismantle the entire ecosystem of these networks.
The initial case dated September 9, 2023 was registered by the Assam Police's Special Task Force (STF) and pertained to a human trafficking network responsible for the infiltration and settlement of illegal migrants across the Indo-Bangladesh border into India, including those of Rohingya origin, the NIA said on Wednesday.
"The operations of this network extended into various parts of the country, including regions along the Indo-Bangladesh international border," said the agency.
Recognising the international and inter-State linkages of the case and its complexity, the NIA formally took charge of the investigations on October 6 this year by registering a case at the NIA Police Station in Guwahati.
NIA investigations in the case revealed that different modules of this illegal human trafficking network were spread over various states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir and operating from there.
In response to these investigational findings, the NIA registered three new cases to bust the modules of this extensive network based in different regions and States of the country.