Over 60 rescued from Myanmar after Maharashtra Cyber busts 'Slavery Racket'

In a major crackdown on one of the most disturbing forms of emerging cybercrimemdashcyber Slavery RacketmdashMaharashtra Cyber has rescued over 60 Indian nationals who were trafficked to Myanmar under false promises of wellpaid overseas jobs the officials said on FridayThe victims were coerced into taking part in largescale cyber fraud operations run by international criminal networks they saidAccording to officials the individuals were lured through social media platforms by agents posing as employment consultants offering highpaying jobs abroad These victims were flown to Thailand on tourist visas and upon arrival were taken for hours towards the ThaiMyanmar borderldquoThey were made to cross a river in small boats into Myanmar and then confined in heavily guarded compounds controlled by armed groupsrdquo said an official from Maharashtra CyberOnce inside these compounds the victims were forced to sign oneyear contracts and engage in cyber fraud schemes including fake investment offers and digital arrest scams The operations were wellorganised with lowerlevel workers using fake identities to trick people while senior operatives pretended to be police or officials to extort moneyAfter rescuing and returning the victims to India Maharashtra Cyber launched a full investigation into the matter said an officialThree FIRs have been registered under sections 1272 1274 1432 3085 3084 3192 and 3512 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS 2023 along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act he saidSo far five people have been arrested including a Chinese national identified as Talaniti Nulaxi who was allegedly planning to set up a cybercrime unit in India Other arrested individuals include Manish Grey also known as Maddy an Indian character actor with roles in web series and television He is believed to have played a key role in recruiting victims and helping traffic them to Myanmar the officials saidThe remaining accusedmdashTaisan alias Aaditya Ravi Chandran Rupnarayan Ramdhar Gupta and Jensi Rani Dmdashare Indian nationals they saidldquoThese operations were not isolated scams but part of an organised international network The arrested individuals used the cover of legitimate call centres and placement agencies to carry out their crimesrdquo Maharashtra Cyber saidThe agency added that investigations are still ongoing and statements from the rescued individuals are being recorded to find more people involved in the networkldquoMaharashtra Cyber remains committed to breaking every part of this criminal operation and making sure all those involved are brought to justicerdquo it said in an official statementMaharashtra Cyber has urged the public to be cautious of fraudulent job offersmdashespecially those promising unusually high pay or overseas placements through unverified sources People are advised to check the credibility of recruiters and report any suspicious activities to cybercrime authorities without delayatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params