Why 3 Indian men being kidnapped in Iran isn't an isolated incident

The reports that three men from Punjab, who took the 'dunki' route to Australia, ending up allegedly in the clutches of Pakistani kidnappers in Iran have shed light on how human smugglers continue to thrive in Iran unabated.

It was on Wednesday that reports emerged that Jaspal Singh, Amritpal Singh and Husanpreet Singh, from Punjab's Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Sangrur districts went missing on May 1, the very day they reached Iran. The trio were allegedly duped by agents who promised to take them to Australia via Iran. On arrival at Tehran airport from Dubai, they were held captive by Pakistani agents, who have since been torturing them seeking a ransom of Rs 18 lakh each.

"We remained in touch with Jaspal till May 11, 2025, after which we lost contact with them. The Pakistani donkers would make the youths speak to us while they were held captive, naked with deep cuts on their bodies and beaten up mercilessly. The youths kept pleading to save them, else the Pakistani donkers would kill them," a close relative of one of the men told The Wire.

However, this isn't an isolated incident. One of the last reported cases happened in 2023 when a couple from Gujarat were held hostage in Iran while they were trying to enter the United States illegally. They were held hostage by kidnappers who brutally tortured them. They were released only after paying a ransom of Rs 10 lakh.

Iran's geographical location makes it a fertile land for human smugglers who transport illegal migrants via land, sea and air routes. The country is a bridge between Asia, Europe and the Middle East, making it a favourite route for illegal migrants to enter the Arabian Peninsula and the southern Mediterranean region.

Many illegal migrants who take the route end up in the hands of kidnappers who torture them for money. In 2023, videos showing Afghan migrants being tortured brutally by criminal gangs along the Turkey-Iran border surfaced. The men were reportedly trying to cross to Turkey when they ended up in the hands of their abductors.

Ali Hekmat, who has been aiding Afghan refugees in Turkey for more than a decade, told Middle East Eye in 2023 that the gangs are mostly made up of ethnic Turks and Kurds often also involved in smuggling networks and the victims are mostly Afghans. “They will take footage of themselves beating Afghans and have them send it to their families,” Hekmat told the newspaper.

Though Iranian authorities claimed to have dismantled 94 trafficking networks in 2023, there are yet to curtail the existence of the gangs.

Middle East