NIA nabs 6th accused in global cyber-frauds, human trafficking case from Maha's Nashik

Nashik (Maharashtra): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the 6th accused in an international cyber fraud and human trafficking case from Maharashtra's Nashik, an official said on Friday.

Sudarshan Darade's arrest comes barely three weeks after the NIA nabbed five others on May 27 after carrying out swoops in multiple states.

The accused are said to be allegedly involved in the huge racket of sending people to various foreign countries like Laos’s Golden Triangle SEZ, on false lures of legal and lucrative jobs there, but forcing them to work in fake call centres indulging in illegal activities instead.

The accused operated through elaborate crime syndicates controlled and operated by foreigners, linked with operatives in India, the UAE as well as contiguous South Asian countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, etc.

In the Nashik action, the NIA has seized several incriminating materials, documents, digital devices, bank account details, etc., which are being scrutinised to unravel the entire conspiracy behind the human trafficking and cyber-fraud cases, said the official.

The case was first detected by the Mumbai Police but as its national and international ramifications emerged, the NIA took it over on May 13 after the preliminary probe indicated a nationwide nexus between the human traffickers and cyber fraudsters who were acting at the behest of the international syndicates.

The NIA investigations reveal that all 6 arrested accused were working in close collusion with the traffickers operating across the international borders to illegally ferry Indian youth youngsters on promises of jobs in those countries. However, after reaching there, they were trapped into working in shady online activities like credit card fraud, investments in cryptocurrencies using fake apps, honey-trapping victims, etc. Further investigations are on.