When Indian authorities raided Myanmar’s KK Park scam compound in October 2025, the operation was initially framed as a rescue mission: 465 Indian nationals, many from Gujarat, were safely repatriated the following month. But what emerged from survivor interviews pointed to something far more entrenched—a sprawling syndicate that systematically deceived job-seekers, transported them across borders, and coerced them into running online fraud operations under threat of violence.
Gujarat, officials say, has been disproportionately affected. Local youths, often searching for lucrative overseas work, were targeted by recruiters who promised high-paying jobs but instead sent them into cybercrime hubs operating under brutal conditions. The accounts from returnees described confinement, beatings, surveillance, and a near-total inability to escape once inside Myanmar’s insurgent-controlled regions.
Mapping the Network: From Gujarat to a Multi-Country Web of Agents
The Cyber Centre of Excellence in Gandhinagar began piecing together the story soon after the repatriation. Investigators analyzed data from interviews conducted by central agencies like I4C and monitored the online footprints of suspected intermediaries. Special teams were formed for fieldwork, forensics, and interrogation.
What they uncovered was a syndicate with multiple layers: local recruiters, interstate agents, and foreign handlers working in coordination across countries. CCoE identified a group of operatives who had repeatedly trafficked Indian citizens to compounds in Myanmar and Thailand. Their activities, officials say, linked India to a wider ecosystem of sub-agents operating out of Pakistan, China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Benin, and Tunisia.
At the center of the network was an alleged kingpin—identified as “@Neel Purohit”—who, investigators claim, managed coordination between these nodes and facilitated the movement of victims into cyber-fraud camps in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Dubai. A criminal case was subsequently registered at CCoE, naming Purohit and three other accused for human trafficking and conspiracy.
Inside the Modus Operandi: A Playbook of Deception and Coercion
Investigators say the scheme relied on a simple but effective technique: the promise of high-income jobs in Southeast Asian countries. Recruiters approached victims through social media, messaging apps, or personal referrals. Once a candidate expressed interest, agents conducted interviews to maintain the illusion of legitimacy. Travel logistics—tickets, visas, coordination—were arranged by the traffickers themselves.
Victims were instructed to travel on tourist visas. But upon landing at Bangkok airport, many were intercepted by armed Malaysian or Chinese operatives who transported them covertly into Myanmar’s remote borderlands. Testimonies later revealed a pattern: long treks through rugged terrain, confiscation of documents, confinement, and immediate induction into cyber-fraud operations targeting Indians.
The scam compounds operated under strict surveillance, with escape nearly impossible. Workers were forced to perpetrate online investment scams, loan-app frauds, sextortion rackets, and other digital offences that have proliferated across India in recent years.
A Warning, and a Call for Vigilance
As details of the trafficking network became clear, senior officials emphasized the need for public awareness. Dr. K. L. N. Rao, IPS, Additional Director General of Police (CID–Crime & Railways), praised the CCoE’s investigation and underscored the state’s commitment to dismantling organized cybercrime.
Authorities issued an advisory urging citizens to verify foreign job offers through official channels. Legitimate travel agents, they noted, can be checked at the government portal www.emigrate.gov.in. Any suspicious activity related to overseas recruitment should be immediately reported to the Cyber Centre of Excellence or a nearby police station.
The operation, officials say, marks a significant breakthrough—but also highlights an uncomfortable truth: as global cyber-fraud networks expand, so too does the exploitation of vulnerable populations. For many of the rescued, the ordeal has ended. For investigators, it may only be the beginning of understanding the full scale of an international trafficking-for-cybercrime economy.
