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The U.S. has sanctioned Mexico-based transnational organized crime group, the Bhardwaj Human Trafficking Organization, accusing the group of smuggling migrants from four continents into the U.S.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the designation of the group and its alleged leader, Vikrant Bhardwaj — a dual citizen of India and Mexico — along with other members of the network. OFAC said the criminal organization is responsible for illegally smuggling thousands of migrants from Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia into the U.S.
Bhardwaj's sprawling network includes 16 companies that were hit with sanctions for allegedly facilitating the group's criminal activities. Among these are eight companies directly owned or controlled by Bhardwaj himself, which are based in Mexico, India, and the UAE.
OFAC also accused the network of involvement in drug trafficking, bribery and money laundering.
The sanctions aim to “[disrupt] this network's ability” to illegally smuggle migrants into the U.S. said John K. Hurley, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The Bhardwaj network allegedly transported migrants into Mexico by yacht, before housing them in hostels and hotels in Cancún and transporting them to the U.S.-Mexico border. This operation was carried out in collaboration with the Hernández-Salas group, a sanctioned human smuggling ring that helped bring migrants into the U.S., as well as with individuals employed by the Sinaloa cartel.
According to the statement, the smuggling ring would profit by “thousands of dollars” for each person they smuggled.
“The Bhardwaj HSO is a sophisticated organization that has blended various transportation methods to facilitate the travel —by air and sea— of undocumented migrants from countries that pose national security concerns to the United States,” according to OFAC.
Other blacklisted individuals include José Germán Valadez Flores, a Mexican businessman and former police officer, accused of bribing Mexican authorities to facilitate the entry of migrants into Mexico. The ringleader's wife, Indu Rani, who is also a dual citizen, has been designated for her role in financing the network's operations.
Rani was reportedly a shareholder in a number of shell companies that were used to transfer the organisation's money across borders.
