New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested five individuals linked to an international human trafficking and cyber fraud syndicate during multi-state raids. The accused were reportedly luring Indian youths with false promises of employment abroad and subsequently forcing them to work in fake call centers located in regions such as the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Laos and Cambodia. The syndicate, primarily run by foreign nationals, compelled the victims to engage in illicit online activities like credit card fraud, cryptocurrency investments through fraudulent applications, and honey trapping.
The individuals arrested have been identified as Manish Hingu from Vadodara, Pahlad Singh from Gopalganj, Nabialam Ray from South-West Delhi, Balwant Kataria from Gurugram, and Sartaj Singh from Chandigarh. These arrests followed a crackdown at 15 locations across Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh.
According to an NIA spokesperson, the coordinated operation involved state police forces and central intelligence agencies. “The searches led to the seizure of several incriminating materials including documents, digital devices, handwritten registers, multiple passports, and bogus overseas employment letters,” the spokesperson stated.
Eight fresh FIRs have been registered by various state and union territory police forces, resulting in the arrests. Investigations revealed that the accused were collaborating with traffickers operating across international borders to facilitate the illegal border-crossing of Indian youths from Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam into the Laos SEZ. They were working on behalf of foreign-based agents belonging to well-organized syndicates active in several districts across Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana.
The NIA further elaborated that these syndicates were connected to operatives in other parts of India as well as in foreign countries such as the UAE, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos SEZ. The crackdown marks a significant step in dismantling a complex network of international human trafficking and cyber fraud, highlighting the coordinated efforts of Indian law enforcement agencies to tackle cross-border criminal activities.
