Two Mohali travel agents arrested for smuggling from Punjab to Cambodia | Chandigarh News

The accused travel agents were sending innocent people from Punjab to Cambodia promising them lucrative data entry jobs. Upon their arrival in Siam Reap, Cambodia, their passports were confiscated and they were then forced/tortured to work in fraudulent call centres targeting Indians to commit financial frauds over the internet.

DGP Yadav said following the statement of the victim, who managed to escape from Cambodia after contacting the Indian Embassy in Cambodia, the state cybercrime police station had registered a first information report (FIR) and initiated investigations into the case.

The DGP said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused have fraudulently sent many people to Cambodia and other South-East Asian countries, where they are being forced to work in centres specialising in cyber-swindling of Indians. The details of the people involved in cyber-slavery are being obtained and contact is being established with them and their families, he added.

ADGP (Cyber ​​Crime Division) V. Neeraja said that the state cyber crime police teams, led by Inspector Deepak Bhatia, raided the Visa Palace immigration office and arrested the two accused.

She said the accused have revealed that they were engaged in illegal activities in connivance with other agents belonging to different states. Further investigation is underway to identify other such travel agents and their accomplices in order to apprehend them, she added.

The ADGP urged citizens to be aware of such fraudulent immigration activities and not fall for false promises of travel agencies offering lucrative job opportunities abroad, especially in South East Asian countries. It is also advisable to thoroughly check the background of the potential employer, especially when the job is offered under the name of ‘Data Entry Operator’, and not to undertake any illegal activities on the internet and contact the Indian Embassy, ​​it added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs has also set up a Foreign Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) as a one-stop shop to provide necessary support services to those willing to go abroad for employment purposes. The OWRC is currently operating a 24/7 helpline (1800113090) to provide need-based information to the emigrants and their families through a toll-free number. If any other person from the state of Punjab has fallen victim to this alleged scam, they can call the Punjab State Cyber ​​Crime Division, on the helpline number 0172-2226258 for further information through the Ministry of External Affairs.