Visakhapatnam, India – Around 300 trafficked Indians staged a revolt against their handlers in Cambodia on May 20, leading to the arrest of most of them, according to Andhra Pradesh police on Tuesday. This comes in the wake of a human trafficking racket recently uncovered in the region.
The Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner, A Ravi Shankar, reported that the incident involved large-scale riots in Jinbei and Compound, Sihanoukvile, a known hub for cybercrime activities orchestrated by Chinese handlers.
“Many people called up Visakha city police WhatsApp numbers and sent videos. Yesterday (Monday), around 300 Indians ‘revolted’ on a large scale against their handlers in Cambodia,” Shankar said in a release.
The Commissioner further detailed that approximately 150 youths from Visakhapatnam and surrounding areas have been trapped in Cambodia for the past year. These individuals have been coerced into participating in cybercrimes and Ponzi scams under duress from their Chinese handlers.
On May 18, Visakhapatnam police arrested three individuals, Chukka Rajesh, S Kondala Rao, and M Jnaneshwar Rao, on charges of human trafficking. They had allegedly lured Indian youth with promises of data entry jobs in Singapore but instead trafficked them to Cambodia to engage in cybercrime activities.
Once in Cambodia, the trafficked youth were held captive, tortured, and forced to execute various scams, including task game fraud and stock market fraud, under the command of their Chinese handlers.
In response to the situation, the police have contacted the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and other relevant departments to facilitate the safe repatriation of the detained youth, who are now mostly lodged in jail following the revolt.
Visakhapatnam Joint Commissioner of Police Fakkeerappa Kaginelli disclosed that nearly 5,000 Indians have been trafficked to Cambodia through different agents across the country. The authorities are actively working to address this alarming situation and bring the trafficked individuals back to India safely.
