New Delhi: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has busted a human trafficking network responsible for pushing Indians into “cyber slavery” across Southeast Asia, In a breakthrough against transnational organised crime.The agency’s action involved coordinated raids at nine locations in four states, including Delhi, Mumbai in Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. One key operative was arrested in Lucknow during the crackdown, which followed an extensive nationwide investigation into the exploitation of job seekers.The investigation revealed a harrowing modus operandi where agents targeted vulnerable people with promises of high-paying tech jobs in foreign countries.Once the victims reached destinations like Myanmar and Cambodia, their passports were confiscated, and they were held captive in heavily guarded compounds from where the digital scams were executed.These facilities serve as hubs for global cyber-fraud syndicates, where trafficked Indians are threatened with physical violence to execute “digital arrest” scams, romance frauds and cryptocurrency investment schemes.Reports from some of the survivors indicate a climate of extreme duress, with many subjected to psychological harassment and severe movement restrictions. In a particularly cruel twist, the traffickers often forced victims to contact their own families in India to demand ransom payments for their release.CBI’s financial analysis, which included tracking complex cryptocurrency trails, helped map the flow of these illicit funds from the victims’ families back to the traffickers and compound operators.During the searches in Mumbai, Lucknow and Gonda, investigators seized a cache of electronic devices, including laptops and phones, containing incriminating evidence of communication with overseas handlers.Preliminary findings suggest that for every Indian national “supplied” to these scam hubs, local agents received significant payouts from the transnational syndicates.CBI has issued an advisory urging the public to remain vigilant against lucrative job offers, received via social media or unverified online advertisements.
