NEW DELHI: In a breakthrough the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested absconding accused Kamran Haider as part of its probe into Laos human trafficking and cyber slavery case, officials said on Tuesday.
Accused Haider was nabbed with the active support of Delhi Police’s Special Cell, the officials said, adding that his arrest marked a significant breakthrough in the case, as it would help the agency in dismantling the international human trafficking syndicate.
Along with co-accused, Haider was directly involved in arranging flight tickets and documents for the victims, and in facilitating their illegal border crossings, with the help of contacts in the Golden Triangle Region, the officials alleged.
Earlier in October this year the NIA had filed a charge sheet against Haider and four others in the case, relating to a well-organised network of traffickers and touts involved in various illegal activities.
In the charge sheet the NIA had identified the accused as Manjoor Alam alias Guddu, Sahil, Ashish alias Akhil, Pawan Yadav alias Afzal alias Afroz, they said.
“All the accused were actively involved in sending vulnerable Indian youths to the Golden Triangle Region in Lao PDR, where they were forced to commit cyber scams targeting European and American citizens. They operated through a consultancy firm, Ali International Services, which operated as a front for human trafficking,” a senior official quoting the findings of the investigations said.
Besides facilitating the entire operation, Haider was also involved in extorting money through cryptocurrency wallets from victims who tried to escape the clutches of the Chinese scammers, the officials alleged. .
Haider carried a cash reward of Rs. 2 lakhs for his arrest and had a Non-Bailable Warrant issued against him by a Special NIA Court in New Delhi.