At first, it seemed like a dream job — “earn ₹60,000 a month doing online work overseas.” But that dream turned into a nightmare for over 100 Gujarati youths now trapped in Myanmar, enslaved in cybercrime compounds run by transnational scam syndicates.
The haunting plea of 26-year-old Kunjan Shah from Savli, Vadodara, has now gone viral across social media: “We escaped the scam centre, but we’re starving and hiding in the jungle. Please help us.”
A Digital Job Scam Turns to Human Trafficking
According to sources, human traffickers lured jobless graduates from Gujarat with promises of positions in Bangkok. But after landing in Thailand, the men were smuggled across the Moei River into Myanmar’s infamous KK Park and Myawaddy regions — the epicentres of Southeast Asia’s cyber-slavery trade.
Once inside, everything changed. Their passports were seized, and they were forced to run online fraud operations — love scams, fake trading apps, digital arrests — under threats, beatings, and surveillance by armed guards. Resisting meant torture or being sold to another gang.
“They Treat Us Like Machines”
Back home, families are in turmoil. Jayesh Shah, Kunjan’s father, told reporters, “We sold land to send our son abroad. Now we don’t even know if he’s alive.” Villagers from Desar and Savli have approached Gujarat Police and local politicians in desperation.
Savli MLA Ketan Inamdar has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar, requesting urgent intervention. Videos from at least 10 stranded Gujaratis have surfaced, showing them pleading from NGO-run safe houses in Myanmar, awaiting rescue.
A Larger Web of Exploitation
This is not an isolated case. Over the past year, Ahmedabad and Surat police have busted trafficking modules tied to Chinese syndicates. Investigations revealed that recruiters, operating from Delhi and Gujarat, charged youths ₹1.5–₹2 lakh for “placement packages” before disappearing.
In September, the CBI arrested two agents linked to a Myanmar-based network that trafficked over 500 Indians. Earlier in November, the Indian Air Force rescued 270 such victims and repatriated them from Thailand.
The Harsh Truth
Myanmar’s cyber-slavery hubs have emerged as the dark underbelly of the digital economy. The United Nations estimates that over 100,000 people are trapped across similar compounds across Southeast Asia — mostly victims of deceitful job offers.
As families in Gujarat wait for a miracle, one thing is clear: India’s growing cyber slavery crisis demands faster diplomatic and law-enforcement coordination before more youths vanish behind the screens of global scam factories.
