New Delhi, March 15 The CBI has arrested a recruiter based in Kanpur, accused of sending Indians to "cyber-slavery compounds" in Southeast Asia where they were allegedly forced to run scams targeting people back home, officials said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Krishna Kumar Lakhwani, allegedly lured young people through advertisements promising lucrative jobs such as data entry or customer support roles abroad, charging $300-400 for the same, they said.
He allegedly made travel arrangements, and many were transported through Delhi to Cambodia, where they were coerced into participating in cyber-fraud operations, according to officials.
"Based on source information and surveillance, the accused was tracked and intercepted upon his arrival in India and brought to the CBI office for questioning," a spokesperson for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in a statement.
She said following the examination of his mobile phone in the presence of witnesses, several videos were found showing him interviewing candidates for recruitment to the scam compounds.
"Images of passports of multiple Indian candidates allegedly recruited by him for these centres in Cambodia were also recovered," the statement said.
In the "cyber scam compounds", the victims were subjected to intimidation, confiscation of passports and, in some cases, wrongful confinement, it further said.
They were allegedly forced to engage in cybercriminal activities such as digital arrests under threats and abusive conditions turning them into "cyber slaves", it added.