Hyderabad/Amravati: Visakhapatnam cyber crime police have arrested a gang of three persons in connection with fraud and human trafficking.
According to police, the prime accused 33-year-old Chukka Rajesh, hailing from Gajuwaka supplied manpower to Gulf countries.
In March 2023, Rajesh was contacted by one Santosh who was looking for 30 individuals with computer skills and English proficiency to work in a company based in Cambodia.
Police said that Rajesh was aware of Santosh’s nefarious plans. Santosh revealed to Rajesh that the work involved cyber crimes, including transferring large sums of money from victims to fraudulent companies and convincing people to invest in scams such as cryptocurrency and task games.
Rajesh collected Rs 90,000 from each individual of which Rs 20,000 would go to him and Rs 70,000 would be Santosh’s share. As per their plan, Rajesh supplied 27 people in three batches to Cambodia in 2023. In total, he supplied 150 people.
Some of the recruits were taken to Bangkok and from there they were smuggled into Cambodia. The victims then realised they were trapped after they were sold to a Chinese company for $2,500 to $ 4,000, depending on their skill set.
The victims were kept in dark rooms, and trained for various cyber crimes. Those who resisted were harassed and denied human rights.
The investigating officer said that the probe began after a complaint was filed by one Botcha Sankar who managed to escape the company.
Chukka Rajesh was arrested along with his accomplices 37-year-old Sabharabarapun Kondalarao and 29-year-old Mannena Ganeshwar Rao.
The victims include people from different regions like Vishakhapatnam, Rajamundry, Srikakulam, Anantapur, Palasa, Tuni, Anacapalli, Telangana and Kolkata.
The companies took 99% percentage of the victims’ earnings and gave only 1% to them.
