NIA probes human trafficking ring luring Indian youth to Laos | India News

NEW DELHI: National Investigation Agency (ANI) conducted searches in five locations across Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan on Friday in a human trafficking case involving luring young Indians with jobs based in South East Asian countries like Laos and force them to engage in cyber fraud there.
Five sites in the three states – mainly premises associated with aides and offices of the main accused in the Balwant and Bobby Kataria case – were subjected to extensive searches by NIA teams as part of the crackdown by the the agency against individuals/travel agents involved in the trafficking of vulnerable people. young people from India in the Golden Triangle SEZ in Laos. The searches led to the seizure of incriminating materials, including digital devices and documents, etc.
NIA investigations revealed that the suspects were handling the trafficking victims and also managing their logistics and recruitment in a cyber fraud company in Laos.
The human trafficking network targeted under the scanner operated from Gurugram and other regions within and outside India. It was involved in recruitment, transportation and transfer of victims from India to the Golden Triangle SEZ in Laos.
Initial investigations into the case, initially registered by the Gurugram police and taken over by the NIA earlier this month, revealed that the suspects whose premises were raided today were working for accused Balwant alias Bobby Kataria, owner of MBK Global Visa Pvt. Ltd in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. They were instrumental in luring youth with promises of lucrative jobs in foreign countries.
Victims who were proficient in English were lured via social media and fraudulently sent to Laos, where they were forced to work in fake call centers. They were physically abused and had their travel documents confiscated if they refused to cooperate.