New Delhi, July 18: Security agencies have reported that illegal immigration networks are changing their operating strategy and shifting activities to other parts of the country as enforcement agencies intensify action against illegal immigrants in West Bengal and Assam. Officials said the evolving tactics have increased the complexity of ongoing efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants.
According to security officials, touts involved in facilitating illegal immigration have begun identifying illegal immigrants currently residing in West Bengal and Assam and are attempting to relocate them to other states, particularly in southern India, where scrutiny is presently lower than in several other regions.
Officials said the nationwide exercise to identify and deport illegal immigrants remains extensive due to the large number of such individuals believed to be residing across different parts of the country after years of inadequate enforcement. Police in Assam and West Bengal, along with the Border Security Force (BSF), have been conducting identification and deportation drives, although officials said the campaign has gained significant momentum only recently.
Security officials stated that the crackdown has forced illegal immigration facilitators to alter their methods. Instead of concentrating operations in states where enforcement has intensified, they are now attempting to disperse illegal immigrants across multiple states to avoid detection.
According to officials, investigations conducted earlier this week by Mangaluru Police in Karnataka identified Dilawar Hussain, Rasul Islam and Moyiddin Islam as the alleged kingpins of a major illegal immigration racket. Investigators said they were operating in coordination with touts based in West Bengal, indicating the existence of a wider interstate network.
Officials further said those involved in the network have reduced activities in states where strict action is underway and have shifted their focus to regions with comparatively lower levels of scrutiny. They added that the changing operational pattern has increased the burden on security agencies by expanding the geographical spread of the problem.
An Intelligence Bureau official described the network as a well-planned operation and alleged that it also involves foreign funding. The official claimed that the strategy was intended to exert pressure through illegal immigration and demographic changes and alleged that it was backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). According to the official, the strategy was conceived after the Bangladesh Liberation War.
The official further stated that enforcement action alone is unlikely to deter the network because of the financial gains involved and the alleged external backing. Authorities believe the syndicate operates across several states, including West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
Officials said raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) indicated that the network extended beyond illegal immigration and was also involved in human trafficking and financial crimes linked to black money. Searches at 13 locations resulted in the seizure of cash amounting to Rs 40 lakh and gold.
The ED investigation also pointed to an alleged foreign funding trail, with officials claiming that UK-based handlers operating transnational hawala channels had transferred illicit funds into India to facilitate the network.
Security agencies said the continuing crackdown in West Bengal and Assam is expected to push illegal immigration networks to adapt further, with states having relatively lower levels of scrutiny likely to remain their primary areas of operation while investigations continue.
