The Crime Branch has arrested a 33-year-old man from Nalasopara who allegedly masterminded a multi-state recruitment scam, duping job aspirants of nearly Rs 20 lakh by promising overseas employment. Police have identified the accused as Sanjay Lalchand Vishwakarma, a resident of Tulinj in Nalasopara.

According to the police, Vishwakarma ran a YouTube channel — Visa Expert Manpower — where he presented himself as a recruitment expert under various aliases, luring victims with the promise of lucrative overseas jobs. His YouTube channel has 156 videos and 6020 subscribers. 

The titles of the videos mainly included jobs in Mauritius, Russia, Qatar, Canada, Georgia, Armenia, Dubai, Malaysia, Kuwait, etc., for freshers as warehouse helpers, packing helpers, supermarket helpers, etc. Officials said Vishwakarma and his associate Abdullah Hussain Alam Sheikh collected money from victims under the pretext of arranging for work visas while also instructing victims to send their passports and payments without meeting personally.