540 Indians Rescued from Cyber Fraud Racket, Returning Home from Thailand
Victims were trapped in fraudulent operations and are now being safely repatriated with government assistance.
Approximately 540 Indians, who had been lured into a cybercrime ring with false employment promises, have been rescued from Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia. One Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft carrying 283 of these nationals rescued brought them back yesterday, while another aircraft is to repatriate the remaining people from Mae Sot in Thailand today.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay, who provided information regarding the process of repatriation, verified that at least 42 of those rescued are from the Telugu states.
Bereft of Cybercrime Operations
They were misled by fake job prospects and sold to imitation call centers operating cyber fraud rings in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. As per the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), they were intimidated into taking part in cybercrime and other online scams at scam centers operating on the Myanmar-Thailand border.
The Myanmar military was instrumental in the rescue of these persons, following which Indian missions in Myanmar and Thailand worked in liaison with local governments to arrange for their repatriation. The rescued victims were initially taken to Mae Sot city in Thailand before they were flown to Delhi.
Cybercrime Hotspot in Southeast Asia
The Golden Triangle Area, where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet, has become a hotbed of cybercrime. There are a number of call centres that are involved in fraudulent activities in this area, taking advantage of job aspirants from various nations, including India.
The Indian government has reaffirmed its alerts regarding such cyber fraud rackets directed against Indian nationals through sham employment offers. It has appealed to job aspirants to correctly authenticate foreign employers through Indian embassies, registered recruiting agents, and genuine companies prior to accepting foreign employment opportunities.
Crackdown on Human Traffickers
The authorities have been making concerted efforts to break up these human trafficking rings. In December last year, Kamran Haider alias Zaidi, an agent who was accused of recruiting a number of young Indians into cybercrime activities, was arrested in Hyderabad. Haider, against whom there was a Rs 2 lakh reward on his head, was apprehended after a long 2,500-km pursuit.
While efforts persist to return all the victims safely, the Indian government is continuing its efforts to bust such fake networks and ensure citizens are not preyed upon by such internet scams.
