Jaipur, Aug 3 (IANS) Rajasthan Police’s Cyber Crime Wing has busted an international cyber‑slavery and human trafficking network that allegedly lured Indian youths to scam compounds in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam with promises of lucrative jobs before forcing them to commit online fraud.
Five accused have been arrested in the operation, which was launched under the directions of Director General of Police Rajiv Kumar Sharma following inputs from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and technical intelligence.
Additional Director General of Police (Cyber Crime) Vijay Kumar Singh said the accused recruited young Indians by offering monthly salaries of USD 800-1,000. After reaching Southeast Asian countries, victims allegedly had their passports confiscated and were forced to work in cyber scam centres, carrying out crimes such as fake investment scams, cryptocurrency fraud and “digital arrest” scams.
Data analysed by I4C indicated that more than 500 people from Rajasthan had travelled to scam compounds in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Police said many are yet to return. Those who managed to come back reported being subjected to physical assault, intimidation and prolonged working hours while being forced to participate in organised cyber fraud.
Police initially arrested Rajkaran alias Ronnie (ROXX) and Sagar Singh, both residents of Beawar. Analysis of their mobile phones, passports and digital devices reportedly uncovered evidence relating to foreign handlers, VPN usage, cryptocurrency transactions through Binance, fake GPS locations and links to an international cybercrime network.
Based on their interrogation, police arrested Jeeturaj alias James, Ravi Kumar alias Mahi and Anil Kumar alias Devil, all residents of Beawar, in Kolkata while they were allegedly preparing to travel to Myanmar on tourist visas.
Investigators said recruits were taken to scam compounds where their passports and identity documents were seized immediately upon arrival. They were allegedly forced to work from 9 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. daily, carrying out online fraud targeting Indian citizens. Attempts to leave the compounds allegedly resulted in assault, threats and financial penalties amounting to thousands of dollars.
Investigators said the accused first received training at overseas scam centres before targeting Indian citizens through fake social media profiles, particularly impersonating women on platforms such as Facebook. After gaining victims’ trust, they allegedly persuaded them to invest large sums in fraudulent cryptocurrency and investment schemes promising unusually high returns. The money was routed through mule bank accounts before being converted into cryptocurrency and transferred to handlers allegedly based in China and Cambodia.
Police said Rajkaran alias Ronnie allegedly worked as an HR recruiter at a scam compound in Poipet, Cambodia, and recruited Indian youths after returning to Rajasthan. Sagar Singh allegedly identified potential victims through fake female social media profiles before passing them to senior operators handling financial fraud.
Jeeturaj alias James allegedly operated cryptocurrency wallets, facilitated the transfer of USDT to overseas handlers, arranged Indian SIM cards and mule accounts, and helped recruit Indian youths by providing their documents to foreign operators. Ravi Kumar alias Mahi allegedly trained recruits in online fraud techniques at Cambodian scam centres and was preparing to shift operations to Myanmar.
Anil Kumar alias Devil allegedly worked for nearly a year in a Cambodian scam compound and was intercepted in Kolkata while attempting to travel to Myanmar under the cover of a construction job.
Police have seized passports, visa documents, mobile phones and digital evidence from the accused. Investigators are now tracing the international financial trail and identifying additional members of the transnational network. Officials said further arrests are likely as the investigation progresses.
The operation was carried out by a Cyber Crime Police team under the supervision of SP (Cyber Crime) Sumit Mehrada and led by DSP/SHO Gajendra Sharma, with Inspector Neeraj Kumar, ASI Rakesh Kumar Samota and other officers participating in the investigation.
–IANS
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