Bhopal, March 21 – Madhya Pradesh Cyber Police have arrested two individuals for their alleged involvement in a human trafficking racket that lured young people with promises of jobs abroad, officials said on Saturday.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the fraudsters contacted young people through social media and invited them for interviews for jobs.
According to police, one of the accused has been arrested in Bihar, while the other is from Uttar Pradesh. They were working as agents and were actively involved in luring young people from Madhya Pradesh. They falsely promised lucrative overseas employment following a bogus interview process.
"Young people were defrauded through advertisements promising lucrative jobs abroad. The accused lured these young people to Thailand and then to Myanmar. They sold these young people to cyber scammers in exchange for foreign currency. The victims were forcibly held captive and compelled to carry out scam operations," Bhopal's Cybercrime Superintendent of Police Pranay Nagvanshi told
The officer said that with the arrest of two agents, the state cyber police have exposed an international network that lured young people with the promise of jobs abroad, only to trap them and transport them to places for cyber fraud operations.
He further stated that the arrests came during an investigation of a case involving a Bhopal youth who was enticed with a data entry job offer and sent to Thailand nearly three months ago. From Thailand, the victim was trafficked across the border into Myanmar, where he was sold to a gang involved in cyber fraud.
"There, he was subjected to physical abuse and forced to participate in fraudulent activities. He was rescued by the Myanmar military later," he added.
Nagvanshi said that during interrogation, arrested persons revealed that cyber scam hubs are operating on a large scale along the borders of Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, where youths from various countries, including India, are being held captive and forced to work.
The officer shared that the accused persons have been booked under various relevant sections about human trafficking and the IT Act. He said that mobile phones, tablets, and several crucial documents were recovered from their possession, and further investigation was underway.