‘Payment after reach, Punjabi testimonials…’: Traffickers now use TikTok to woo Indians for illegal US entry for $5,000

Human traffickers trying to woo Indians who are looking to illegally immigrate into the US via Canada have now found a new advertising channel — TikTok. The traffickers, known as “coyotes”, as per a New York Post report, have been advertising their services for as much as $5,000. 

The “payment after reach” offer claims to provide a “100% safe” journey and promises a hassle-free crossing from cities like Montreal, Brampton, and Surrey into the US states of New York or Washington. 

What’s more, like legitimate businesses, the accounts often feature testimonials, in Punjabi, from “satisfied customers,” bragging about how “easy” and even “comfortable” the journey was.

The New York Post contacted a smuggler who confirmed a charge of $4,500 for a journey involving a two-hour car ride and a 25-minute walk through the woods, where migrants are given a map to navigate the border. Up to five individuals are reportedly taken at a time in these “group walks.”

“The posts often feature a US flag waving over a wooded northern border, set to Indian music, urging wannabe border crossers to DM them for more details,” the report read. At least half a dozen such coyote accounts are still operating on TikTok, it added. 

A New York journey entails a two-hour car ride, and a 25-minute trek through the forest through an unguarded stretch of land. The migrants are given a map to guide them across the border outside official checkpoints in Champlain and Mooers, NY. 

The smugglers continue to exploit social media for illegal migration even as the US has intensified its crackdown. On Saturday, a planeload of 119 illegal Indian immigrants from the US landed in Amritsar making it the second deportation flight this year. Sources said those on board include 67 from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from UP, two each from Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Goa, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Last week, a US military plane with 104 deportees landed in Amritsar.