Ex-Merchant Navy Officer Arrested For Trafficking Indians To Cambodia & Thailand For ‘Cyber Slavery’

New Delhi: A 35-year-old ex-merchant navy officer has been arrested for allegedly trafficking Indian nationals to Cambodia and Thailand for “cyber slavery” under the pretext of high-paying jobs.

The racket came to light after some youths claimed they were cheated and trapped in cyber scam centres, reported NDTV.

The accused, identified as Nagesh Kumar, alias ‘Captain Chauhan’, from Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, was arrested in Chandigarh and brought to Agra on transit remand on Thursday evening.

The gang reportedly extorted lakhs of rupees from people for sending them abroad and sent them to the two Asian nations by luring them with high-paying jobs.

Kumar, who quit his job and had allegedly been involved in the racket for the past three years, targeted youths from major UP cities such as Agra and Kanpur. Once they reached there, the youths were allegedly held hostage and forced into cyber fraud and online crimes.

Complainants informed the police about the scam and how they were forced to work in call centres targeting Indian citizens via WhatsApp calls and other online platforms, according to a report by The Times of India.

After receiving the complaint, the Agra Cyber Cell launched a probe and found that many Indian youths were trapped in the racket and were being pressured into committing online fraud.

Subsequently, the police conducted multiple raids and arrested Nagesh Kumar from Himachal Pradesh’s Palampur area.