HYDERABAD: The TGCSB arrested five men for allegedly trafficking Indian job-seekers to Chinese-run cybercrime syndicates in Myanmar, where victims were sold for USD 3,000–5,000 each.
Those held are Vasam Govardhan of Warangal, Banothu Madanlal of Warangal district, Syed Mohammad Madani alias Max of Mysuru, Suggana Sudheer Kumar of Krishna district and Gangala Naveen of Hyderabad.
The arrests followed a November 22 complaint from two victims who were lured with overseas job offers, taken to Myawaddy, stripped of their passports and forced into cyber-fraud operations.
On October 22, the victims and other Indians were intercepted by the Myanmar Army, detained for 25 days and later handed over to the Indian Embassy. After repatriation, TGCSB recorded statements and analysed devices, identifying the trafficking network. A Special Investigation Team was formed, and Look Out Circulars were issued for overseas handlers.
Police found that Govardhan ran an unregistered consultancy, YUGA, recruiting candidates through social media. Madanlal had earlier worked in Myanmar’s scam hubs, while Sudheer Kumar and Madani were linked to a Chinese-run firm, HS, which allegedly paid USD 3,000–5,000 per recruit.
Victims were interviewed via Instagram or Telegram, flown through Bangkok and pushed into investment scams, digital-arrest fraud, OTP harvesting and romance fraud. Resistance brought torture, threats and extortion demands of up to USD 5,000. Cases were booked under the BNS, the Emigration Act and the IT Act, 2008.