A chilling case of human trafficking linked with cybercrime has surfaced in Mumbai, where police arrested a 32-year-old man, Salman Shaikh, from Mira Road for his role in luring job seekers abroad and trapping them in cyber slavery. Officials revealed that at least seven Indians fell prey to the network, travelling to Laos on the promise of lucrative jobs but ending up in foreign call centres controlled by international crime syndicates.
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Job Promises That Turned Into Exploitation
The investigation began when a 26-year-old man from Antop Hill in Mumbai responded to an online advertisement for a data entry job offering ₹70,000 per month. He was asked to pay ₹30,000 for visa and travel arrangements, after which he, along with others, was flown first to Bangkok and then taken across the border into Laos. Once there, their passports were confiscated, and they were confined in a building operated as a call centre.
Instead of clerical work, the men were forced to run online scams, using WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram to cheat unsuspecting people across the globe. They were threatened, kept under surveillance and denied freedom of movement. At one point, the traffickers even demanded ransom in foreign currency from families back in India, warning that the victims would otherwise be sold further into forced labour.
Arrest in Mumbai and Wider Probe
Shaikh, who was allegedly coordinating from India, had provided a fake address on his passport to avoid detection. Acting on intelligence, the South Cyber Police Zone arrested him at his Mira Road residence. Investigators believe he is part of a larger chain of recruiters collaborating with agents in Southeast Asia who run such cybercrime hubs.
Police say the victims’ testimonies indicate that this was not an isolated case. They are now probing whether more young Indians from Maharashtra and neighbouring states have been duped with similar job offers and trafficked abroad. Digital devices, bank records and communication trails are being examined to identify other members of the syndicate.