CBI arrests 2 in trafficking racket sending Indians to SE Asia scam hubs

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two key accused in an international human trafficking racket that lured Indian nationals to cyber scam compounds in Southeast Asia on the promise of high-paying jobs.

The accused, identified as Nipender Chaudhary and Nilesh Narpatsinh Purohit, were part of a transnational network that recruited Indians with false job offers and sent them to scam centres, mainly in Myanmar and Cambodia, CBI said.

According to CBI, victims were offered jobs in Southeast Asian countries but, on arrival, were confined in heavily guarded compounds run by international cybercrime syndicates. These centres have emerged as hubs of cyber-enabled financial fraud targeting victims worldwide.

Trafficked Indians were forced into carrying out online financial scams, officials said. Their movement was restricted, passports were seized, and many were subjected to physical and psychological abuse. In several instances, families paid large sums to secure their release.

Senior officials said one of the arrested accused allegedly facilitated the movement of victims to Myanmar, coordinating travel through Thailand on behalf of operators of the scam compounds. Recruits were flown to Bangkok, taken to Mae Sot near the Thailand-Myanmar border, and then moved illegally into Myanmar.

The second accused allegedly managed a network of sub-agents across India on behalf of scam compound operators. According to investigators, he worked from an office situated within a scam compound near the Thailand-Myanmar border. He received payments in cryptocurrency from operators of these facilities to conceal transactions and identities, investigators said.

The arrests come after months of investigation involving victim interviews, financial analysis and technical surveillance. The agency recorded statements from several victims who were allegedly trafficked to Southeast Asia and examined financial trails to identify those involved in recruiting and transporting them.

Officials said the probe also involved tracking cryptocurrency transactions to uncover links between recruiters in India and operators of scam compounds abroad. Electronic devices containing incriminating material were seized and analysed as part of the investigation.

Earlier, in May this year, the CBI conducted coordinated searches at multiple locations across four states and arrested another accused allegedly involved in the trafficking operation. As part of the wider probe, searches were carried out in cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow and Kashipur, as well as locations in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda and Saharanpur districts.