Hyderabad: Telangana police rescued two techies, who were abducted by Chinese gangs and forced to labour 16 hours a day in Cambodia, committing cybercrime. In recent years, many gullible young Indian IT professionals have been tricked, trafficked, and forced to work for Chinese cybercrime gangs operating out of Cambodia and Myanmar.
Police said that fraudsters sent a graduate from Sircilla district and another youth from Jagtial to Cambodia three months ago to work in a Chinese firm.
The gang, led by Kancharla Saiprasad, was caught and traced to another accused, Abid Ansari. A lookout circular has been issued against Sadakat, currently in the Maldives, and Shadab, a native of Bihar, currently in Dubai. The incident was registered when Lakshmi of Peddur village sought help for her son Shiva Prasad.
She alleges that her son was sent to Cambodia after he paid Rs 1,40,000 on the pretext of a job. Shiva Prasad, along with other Indian youths, was forced to commit cyber crimes like lottery fraud and fake online recruitment scams. The Telangana police shared the details of Shiva Prasad and others with the Indian Embassy authorities in Cambodia after registering a case. Subsequently, the Cambodian police helped rescue the two techies.
The external affairs ministry said last month that India has rescued and repatriated about 250 Indians who were lured into these jobs from Cambodia, and 75 individuals returned home in the past three months alone.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in a press release, said that India remains committed to putting an end to this practice. “We are also working with Cambodian authorities and with agencies in India to crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes.”
A separate report by News18 estimates that more than 5,000 Indians are allegedly being held against their will in the Southeast Asian country and are being forced to carry out cyber fraud on people back home. The government estimates that the fraudsters have allegedly duped people in India of at least Rs 500 crore over the last six months.
According to estimates from the US State Department, these Chinese cybercriminals have recruited over 10,000 individuals from all around the world to work for them.
According to the UN, up to 120,000 individuals may be detained in compounds spread throughout Myanmar, and an additional 100,000 people may be detained in circumstances that resemble modern slavery in Cambodia and other countries.
