CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Wing dismantled a cyber slavery network and successfully prevented traffickers from moving four persons to international scam compounds in Cambodia, the police said on Wednesday.
The operation was carried out in connection with a case registered under the BNS, the I-T Act, 2000, and the Emigration Act, 1983. The racket was detected during cyber slavery-related patrolling and social media monitoring carried out under the supervision of SP I. Shahnaz. Based on credible inputs, the State Cyber Command Centre formed special teams in Chennai and Madurai and intercepted the victims at Chennai International Airport just before departure.
Investigations revealed the victims were lured by agents from Madurai under the guise of overseas data entry job offers. They were subjected to sham recruitment processes, including typing tests, video interviews and medical examinations, and were promised high salaries, easy work and free accommodation. Each victim had paid Rs 1.5 lakh and was instructed to carry USD 500, which was to be collected by a receiver upon reaching Phnom Penh.
The police said a handler had been assigned to accompany the victims and hand them over to the scam compound operators abroad. Victims are often forced into cyber fraud activities including investment scams, fake digital arrests and FedEx impersonation schemes and face physical and mental abuse if they refuse to work or fail to meet daily targets. Four accused three agents and one carrier, all from Melur in Madurai, have been arrested. Investigation is under way to trace other victims and network links.
The arrest follows a sustained crackdown. In November 2025, Operation Blue Triangle launched after 35 Tamil Nadu residents were repatriated from Myanmar’s KK Park compound led to the arrest of four agents from the Thanjavur-Tiruchy belt. As of early 2025, an estimated 1,465 persons from Tamil Nadu are believed to remain trapped in Southeast Asian scam compounds.
Additional DGP Anisa Hussain urged the public to verify agents on the eMigrate portal and report suspicious activity.