The arrests came on Monday after the NIA and state police personnel conducted extensive raids across multiple states including Maharashtra.
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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested five people suspected of being involved in a human trafficking and cyber fraud syndicate. The arrests came on Monday after the NIA and state police personnel conducted extensive raids across Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh, reported ANI.
"The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted searches at multiple locations across six states and union territories in joint operations with local police in a case of human trafficking involving forced cyber crimes which led to the arrest of five accused persons," an official statement read.
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According to NIA findings, the accused were part of an organised gang that trafficked Indian youth to foreign nations with false promises of lawful employment. During the raids, incriminating evidence was seized, including documents, digital devices, handwritten registers, multiple passports, and false international job letters, the news agency report stated.
The arrested were Manish Hingu from Vadodara, Prahlad Singh from Gopalganj, Nabialam Ray from southwest Delhi, Balwant Kataria from Gurugram, and Sartaj Singh from Chandigarh. The operation, which involved local police and central intelligence services, resulted in eight additional FIRs filed by police in various states and union territories. The trafficked youths were forced to labour in bogus call centres in Laos, the Golden Triangle SEZ, and Cambodia. They were persuaded into engaging in illicit activity such as credit card fraud, cryptocurrency schemes, and honey trapping, the report added.
Per the ANI report, the investigation revealed that the accused individuals were working with international traffickers to arrange illicit border crossings from Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam into the Laos SEZ. These syndicates had links to operators in India and abroad, including the UAE, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Laos SEZ.
"They were coerced into undertaking illegal activities online, such as credit card fraud, investments in Cryptocurrency using fake applications, honey trapping etc," the release stated and added, "Investigations revealed that the arrested accused were coordinating with traffickers operating from across the international border to facilitate illegal border-crossing of Indian youth from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to Laos SEZ. They were working at the behest of foreign-based agents belonging to well-organised syndicates that were active in several districts of Maharashtra, UP, Bihar, Gujrat, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana etc. These syndicates were further connected to operatives based in other parts of India, as well as foreign countries like UAE, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos SEZ etc."
The NIA took up the case from Mumbai police on May 13, 2024, uncovering the syndicate's wide network across India and internationally. The investigation is underway.
With ANI inputs
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