AP Police bust human trafficking racket, 3 held

Representational image. Pic/iStock

Three people were arrested here on Saturday on human trafficking charges, police said and added that they allegedly took people to Cambodia where "Chinese operators" forced them to carry out cyber crimes and ponzi scams. Chukka Rajesh, S Kondala Rao and M Jnaneshwar Rao have also been held for taking up to Rs 1.1 lakh from people on the pretext of provident them jobs in Southeast Asian countries, police said.

"In March 2023, Rajesh came in touch with Santosh from Cambodia who was looking for 30 system operators with good English communication skills and computer knowledge for jobs in Cambodia," police said in a statement. It was on the advice of Santosh that Rajesh took money from people, it said and added that in March last year 27 job aspirants were dispatched to Cambodia. Under this racket, around 150 people, all youngsters, from various places had been trafficked to Cambodia.

They would be "sold off to Chinese operators engaging in cyber crime for up to USD 4,000", police said. In the statement, police said that "after coming under the control of these Chinese operators, the youth would be made to sit in dark rooms to forcibly carry out cyber crimes, and any rebellion would be met with severe persecution and starvation". Police discovered the racket after a victim managed to escape and called the Visakhapatnam Police cyber helpline 1930 to spill the beans. Police released the names of 67 persons who are currently under the clutches of the Chinese operators in Cambodia.

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