Indian-origin man sentenced to jail in US for smuggling over 800 Indian citizens using Uber app

In a rare incident, a 49-year-old Indian-origin man was sentenced to three years in jail for allegedly smuggling 800 Indian citizens using Uber App. 

The man identified as Rajinder Pal Singh, also known as Jaspal Gill used Uber to smuggle more than 800 Indian nationals into the US.

According to reports, Singh, a resident of California admitted his involvement and pleaded guilty in February. He admitted to being an important key member in a network that smuggled hundreds of citizens of India from Canada. 

In an official statement, the Department of Justice said that Singh received a sentence of 45 months by a US District Court for his offences, which included conspiring to transport and harbour specific aliens for profit and conspiring to commit money laundering.

According to Acting US Attorney Tessa M Gorman, Singh also organized the smuggling of over 800 people into the US over a four-year period. 

The statement further claimed that the smugglers entered Washington State from Canada. 

Gorman emphasized that Singh's conduct not only constituted a threat to national security but also endangered the lives of those being smuggled as they travelled from India to the US.

Singh took advantage of Indian nationals' aspirations for a better life in the US by taking part in the smuggling plot. However, it left them owing up to $70,000 in debt. 

''In their illicit scheme, Singh and his accomplices used Uber to ferry Canadians who had crossed the border without authorization to the Seattle region. Singh organized more than 600 visits for Indian nationals who were brought into the US illegally between mid-2018 and May 2022,'' the statement added.

According to investigation estimates, the 17 Uber accounts used by the smuggling ring racked up expenses of more than $80,000 between July 2018 and April 2022. 
Singh and his friends rented one-way cars to take the smuggled people to their final destinations outside Washington state. Near the border, these journeys typically started early and were broken up into separate rides.

Singh and his accomplices used sophisticated money laundering techniques in addition to smuggling to cover up their illicit profits. At one of Singh's California homes, authorities discovered about $45,000 in cash and fake identification documents.

''Singh will probably be deported after serving his prison sentence because he is not legally allowed to remain in the country,'' the statement concluded.