NIA files charge sheet against trafficking gang sending Indians to Laos

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against members of a human trafficking gang that was sending Indians to Laos to work in cyber crime sweatshops run by Chinese scammers targeting European and American citizens, officials said on Thursday.

The agency filed its charge sheet before a special court on Wednesday against gang members Manjoor Alam alias Guddu, Sahil, Ashish alias Akhil, Pawan Yadav alias Afzal alias Afroz, along with the key conspirator, Kamran Haider alias Zaidi.

"NIA investigations have revealed that all five were involved in trafficking vulnerable Indian youth to the Golden Triangle Region in Lao PDR where they 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," an NIA spokesperson said in a statement.

According to the agency's investigation, Zaidi facilitated the entire operation and extorted money through crypto currency wallets from the victims who tried to escape from 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 in Chinese companies involved in creating fake Facebook profiles and chatting with persons from the USA and Europe, convincing them to invest in crypto currency apps as part of the cyber scam," the NIA said.

The agency said its probe has uncovered a well-organised network of traffickers and touts involved in various illegal activities.

"These ranged from the operation of unlicensed manpower supply agencies to the illegal transfer and transport of potential victims for criminal activities in Southeast Asian countries. The accused named in the charge sheet were directly involved in arranging flight tickets and documents, and facilitating illegal border crossings with the help of contacts in the Golden Triangle Region," the statement added.