NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday chargesheeted five accused, including two foreign nationals, in a case relating to human trafficking and cyber fraud syndicates operating both within and outside the country.
While two chargesheeted accused, Jerry Jacob and Godfrey Alvares, are under arrest, the remaining three — Sunny Gonsalves as well as foreign nationals Niu Niu & Elvis Du, are absconding.
As per NIA investigations in the case — in which several foreign nationals are involved — the accused were targeting Indian youth who were proficient in computers and the English language, and coercing them to work in
fraudulent call centres
on tourist visas, for pecuniary gains. The victims were recruited, transported and transferred from India to the Golden Triangle SEZ in Lao PDR via Thailand. Upon arrival, the victims were trained in the use of Facebook, Telegram, basics of cryptocurrency, and the handling of apps created by the scam company.
The powerful syndicates also used victim control tactics in case any of the trafficked youth refused to continue with the
online fraud
work. These tactics included isolation and restriction of movement, confiscation of personal travel documents and physical abuse, arbitrary fines, threat to kill, threat to rape in case of women, and threat to arraign in false case of drugs in local police station etc.
NIA said the accused had even taken to deleting the data of the victims’ mobile phones to destroy evidence. The victims faced threats if they approached the concerned Embassy or any local authority. In some cases, the victims were held in scam compounds, confined without food for 3 to 7 days, and tortured if they refused to work. They were only released after extraction of extortion payments ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs. 1,80,000, or intervention by the Embassy of India in Lao PDR on complaints made by the victims.
Southeast Asian countries like Lao PDR and Cambodia have of late emerged as the new hubs of financial cyber fraud reported in India, with 46% of defrauded money now lost to cybercrimes like investment scams, digital arrest scams, trading scams, and dating scams originating from there.
Organised cybercrime gangs, according to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) CEO Rajesh Kumar, are operating ‘corporate style’ from compounds in these countries, hiring Indian job-seekers through illegal recruitment agents and then compelling them to defraud fellow citizens in India.
