In a major breakthrough, Dhoraji Police in Rajkot district have arrested four individuals involved in a human trafficking ring that covertly inducted job aspirants into cybercrime syndicates operating on the Thailand-Myanmar border. The arrests followed the escape of three local men from the forests in early April, who had been coerced into the racket.
The arrested suspects have been identified as:
Rizwan Kapadvanji (Dhoraji)
Mehul Rajpopat (alias Martin) (Rajkot)
Bharat Vadher (Rajkot)
Punit Vadher (Rajkot)
Among them, Mehul Rajpopat is believed to be the mastermind of the operation in Gujarat, responsible for recruiting individuals with computer skills who aspired to work abroad.
According to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Simran Bhardwaj, the cybercrime gangs primarily targeted individuals from wealthy countries like the US, convincing them to join cybercrime operations. Some recruits were coerced into posing as females to lure victims through online chats, while others were tasked with monitoring social media to exploit vulnerabilities.
In the first week of April, two victims from Dhoraji lodged a complaint after being lured into white-collar jobs in Bangkok, only to be taken to the Myanmar border. Once there, their passports, phones, and cash were confiscated, and they were abandoned in the forest. After a perilous journey on foot, they encountered a military officer who, using Google Translate, helped them reach safety and contact their families. The Indian embassy later issued new passports and facilitated their return home.
The victims revealed that they had been taken to a facility in Myanmar, known as KK Park, a notorious hub for cyber scamming operations. If they refused to work, they were denied food and forced to work 15 to 16 hours daily. These individuals were tasked with scamming online targets, especially wealthy individuals, to extort money.
ASP Bhardwaj also mentioned that the investigation into this human trafficking racket, which involves the transportation of thousands of Indians to Myanmar, is being pursued by multiple agencies, including the CBI, NIA, and the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C).
Notably, on March 11, an Indian military plane evacuated 266 men and 17 women who had been stranded at the Thai-Myanmar border after being rescued from scam call centres operating in Myanmar’s Myawaddy.
