SAO PAULO — On Thursday, Brazil’s Federal Police carried out extensive operations in six states aimed at dismantling a suspected criminal network involved in smuggling migrants into the United States.

According to police reports, the group enticed individuals from Asian countries, mainly Bangladesh and Nepal, to converge at São Paulo International Airport. From this point, the migrants were subjected to perilous journeys leading them to northern Brazil, where they transited through neighboring nations, such as Bolivia and Peru, before proceeding through Central America toward the U.S.-Mexico border.

The traffickers reportedly charged each migrant around $10,000 for their passage and operated a wide network of accomplices, including taxi drivers, smugglers, and hotel personnel, who played roles in facilitating these illegal operations. The police revealed that the suspects also engaged in document forgery to help migrants secure entry to Brazil by applying for temporary residency as refugees.

In a previous investigation conducted in July, it was uncovered that migrants originating from Bangladesh, Vietnam, and India traveled through the Amazon region, with many choosing to return to Acre state near the Peru border following the emergence of restrictive U.S. border policies that left them in limbo.

Further inquiries by the Federal Police indicated that migrants frequently purchased airline tickets with connections in São Paulo when en route to other destinations but opted to remain in Brazil as a launch point for their northern journey.

In a move to tighten immigration controls, Brazil initiated restrictions in August regarding the entry of certain Asian nationals. The justice ministry stated that these individuals were now required to obtain visas in order to stay in Brazil and utilize it as a jump-off location for migration toward the United States and Canada.

On Thursday, the Federal Police announced that they had taken seven individuals into preventive custody, executing 35 search and seizure warrants across the northern states of Acre, Amazonas, Rondônia, and Roraima, as well as in the southeastern states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais.