CHENNAI: CB-CID sleuths have apprehended 10 travel/ job agents from Trichy, Thanjavur and Madurai in connection with human trafficking from Tamil Nadu to Cambodia and Laos.
They also arrested 13 others across the state for aiding the traffickers in activities such as data theft, creating mule accounts to transfer funds, purchasing bulk SIM cards and setting up fake companies in Tamil Nadu.
A report from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I-4C), under the ministry of home affairs, said that scammers employed various methods to steal ₹10,188 crore from India between Jan 2023 and Feb 2024.
I-4C officials met with different agencies, sharing data regarding passengers who travelled to Southeast Asian countries and have not returned.
Tamil Nadu police received details of 1,285 such individuals. CB-CID got specifics of 186 victims who have since returned to the state.
CB-CID sources said many victims were reluctant to file complaints. An officer said, "We question those brought back with the assistance of protector of emigrants. The scamsters have been using agents to gather documents from impoverished individuals to open bank accounts and set up fake companies that re used to procure and smuggle SIM cards abroad."
CB-CID has deployed teams statewide to monitor suspects collaborating with these operators. Thousands of young people, including women, from India are trafficked by illegal job agents to Chinese-operated groups in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos.
Many of the victims are from the western and southern regions of Tamil Nadu, and a few from Chennai. These agents lure victims with promises of lucrative jobs in the "computer sector" and make them work on honey traps and fraudulent cryptocurrency portals.
Some victims are also used for data theft from government websites, while online gamers are trained to launder the stolen money abroad via cryptocurrency.
They also arrested 13 others across the state for aiding the traffickers in activities such as data theft, creating mule accounts to transfer funds, purchasing bulk SIM cards and setting up fake companies in Tamil Nadu.
A report from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I-4C), under the ministry of home affairs, said that scammers employed various methods to steal ₹10,188 crore from India between Jan 2023 and Feb 2024.
I-4C officials met with different agencies, sharing data regarding passengers who travelled to Southeast Asian countries and have not returned.
Tamil Nadu police received details of 1,285 such individuals. CB-CID got specifics of 186 victims who have since returned to the state.
CB-CID sources said many victims were reluctant to file complaints. An officer said, "We question those brought back with the assistance of protector of emigrants. The scamsters have been using agents to gather documents from impoverished individuals to open bank accounts and set up fake companies that re used to procure and smuggle SIM cards abroad."
CB-CID has deployed teams statewide to monitor suspects collaborating with these operators. Thousands of young people, including women, from India are trafficked by illegal job agents to Chinese-operated groups in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos.
Many of the victims are from the western and southern regions of Tamil Nadu, and a few from Chennai. These agents lure victims with promises of lucrative jobs in the "computer sector" and make them work on honey traps and fraudulent cryptocurrency portals.
Some victims are also used for data theft from government websites, while online gamers are trained to launder the stolen money abroad via cryptocurrency.
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