NEW DELHI:
NIA
, as part of a multi-state crackdown on organised
trafficking syndicates
engaged in luring
Indian youths
with false promises of jobs in Cambodia, Laos and Golden Triangle SEZ, and forcing them to work in cyber fraud centres there, arrested five persons on Monday after raiding 15 locations across seven states and Union territories (UTs).
Among the states/UTs where NIA carried out the searches were Maharashtra, UP, Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. Eight fresh FIRs were registered and five accused - Manish Hingu of Vadodara, Pahlad Singh of Gopalganj, Nabialam Ray of south west Delhi, Balwant Kataria of Gurgaon, and Sartaj Singh of Chandigarh - arrested.
Youths lured with false job promises were being forced to work in fake call centres at Laos, Golden Triangle SEZ and Cambodia, among other places, as part of the racket, controlled and operated mainly by foreigners. They were coerced into undertaking illegal activities online, such as credit card fraud, investments in cryptocurrency using fake applications, honey trapping etc.
Investigations further revealed 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.
The searches led to the seizure of several incriminating materials including documents, digital devices, handwritten registers, multiple passports, bogus overseas employment letters etc, said NIA.
English (US) ·