NIA chargesheets five accused in Laos for human trafficking, cyber fraud

New Delhi: In a significant step towards dismantling an international human trafficking syndicate, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet on five persons in Laos accused of cyber fraud and human trafficking, run by a Delhi-based consultancy firm, NIA officials confirmed on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Manjoor Alam (alias Guddu), Sahil, Ashish (alias Akhil), Pawan Yadav (alias Afzal, Afroz). Additionally, NIA has also identified an alleged conspirator, identified as Kamran Haider (alias Zaidi).
A statement by NIA said that persons were involved in trafficking vulnerable Indians to the Golden Triangle Region in Lao PDR.
"NIA investigations have revealed that all five were involved in trafficking vulnerable Indian youth to the Golden Triangle Region in Lao PDR where they (the victims) were forced to commit cyber scams targeting European and American citizens. They operated through the consultancy firm, Ali international Services, which functioned as a front for human trafficking," read a statement by NIA.
The Agency further said that one of the accused, identified as Zaidi was facilitating the operation and was also involved in a crypto-currency scam
"(Zaidi) was also involved in extorting money through crypto-currency wallets from victims who tried to escape the clutches of the Chinese scammers. Pawan Yadav bypassed the other middle agents to supply the trafficked persons in lieu of jobs directly to his folds. He further employed them into Chinese companies involved in creating fake Facebook profiles; chatting with persons from USA and Europe, and convincing them to invest in cryptocurrency apps as part of the cyber scam," the statement added.
According to the agency, they had uncovered a "network of traffickers and touts involved in various illegal activities."
The statement read, "These ranged from operation of unlicensed manpower supply agency, to illegal transfer/ transport of potential victims for criminal activities in South Eastern Asian countries. The chargesheeted accused were directly involved in arranging flight tickets and documents, and in facilitating illegal border crossings with the help of contacts in the Golden Triangle Region."
The investigation into the case is currently ongoing.
On September 10, NIA had also charge-sheeted the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Long Sheng company, a Laos-based enterprise in a high-profile human trafficking and cyber fraud case with an international footprint.
One of the accused in the case, identified as Sudarshan Darade, was arrested by NIA, Mumbai, in June. According to the anti-terror agency, Darade is the sixth accused to be charge-sheeted in the case. The other two accused, identified as Jerry Jacob and Godfrey Alvares, have also been arrested.