The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended five individuals allegedly involved in a human trafficking and cyber fraud syndicate. The arrests were made following extensive searches conducted jointly by the NIA and state police forces across multiple locations in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh.
NIA investigations have disclosed that the accused were part of an organized trafficking syndicate that enticed and trafficked Indian youth to foreign countries under false promises of legal employment.
An official statement from the NIA stated, “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.”
The arrested individuals were identified as Manish Hingu from Vadodara, Prahlad Singh from Gopalganj, Nabialam Ray from southwest Delhi, Balwant Kataria from Gurugram, and Sartaj Singh from Chandigarh.
During the searches, several incriminating materials such as documents, digital devices, handwritten registers, multiple passports, and bogus overseas employment letters were seized.
Additionally, eight fresh FIRs have been registered by various state and union territories’ police forces.
The youth were allegedly coerced into working in fake call centers in Laos, Golden Triangle SEZ, and Cambodia, among other locations, as part of the racket, which was primarily controlled and operated by foreign nationals.
“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.
Investigations revealed that the arrested individuals were collaborating with traffickers operating from across the international border to facilitate the illegal border-crossing of Indian youth from Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam to Laos SEZ. They were working under the direction of foreign-based agents belonging to well-organized syndicates that were active in several districts of Maharashtra, UP, Bihar, Gujarat, 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,” it added.
The NIA took over the case from the Mumbai police on 13th May 2024. It was discovered that the human trafficking syndicate was not confined to Mumbai but had connections with other facilitators and traffickers in various parts of the country and across the border.
The investigation is ongoing, and further details are awaited.