Agra: Two young men from Agra believed they were headed for a promising career abroad. Instead, they found themselves trapped in a Cambodian compound, forced to run online scams for syndicates that sold them like property. Their ordeal has now helped uncover a growing network of traffickers exploiting India’s unemployed youth in the name of digital work.
A Trap Laid With Job Offers
What began as an email seeking help from stranded Indian youths in Cambodia has evolved into a disturbing portrait of a 21st-century slave trade — one that thrives not in sweatshops or construction camps, but in cybercrime dens.
Police in Agra have arrested two men, Ajay Shukla (33) and Mohammad Adil Khan (34), accused of running an international human trafficking and cyber slavery racket. Investigators say the duo lured unemployed youths from Uttar Pradesh with promises of lucrative tech jobs abroad, then trafficked them to Cambodia and Thailand, where they were coerced into operating online fraud schemes.
The case broke open after two victims — both residents of Agra — managed to send a desperate email to India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier this year. With the ministry’s intervention, they were rescued in July and flown back home, setting in motion an investigation that now spans multiple countries.
The Mechanics of Digital Bondage
According to police, the victims had each paid ₹3.5 lakh in 2024 for job placements overseas. Instead of the promised positions, they were flown to Phnom Penh in June 2025, where their passports were confiscated and they were confined to guarded dormitories. When they resisted participating in online fraud, they were beaten, starved, and extorted for another ₹3 lakh each before being released.
“Each victim was sold for about USD 3,500 to 4,000, then forced to run online scams,” said ADCP Aditya, who is leading the probe. “Chats and photos recovered from their devices reveal a transnational network of recruiters and handlers operating across India, Cambodia, and Laos.”
During interrogation, Adil Khan allegedly admitted to living in Cambodia since 2022 and to trafficking over 25 Indian youths to various cybercrime companies there. Shukla, police said, acted as his local recruiter, collecting payments from desperate job seekers through social media and WhatsApp groups advertising “digital marketing” or “crypto support” positions abroad
From Agra to Phnom Penh: A Digital Slavery Route
Officials describe a well-oiled supply chain of exploitation.
“Some agents sitting in India lure innocent youths with fake job promises,” ADCP Aditya explained. “Others, already based in Cambodia and Laos, buy them for $3,500–$4,000(₹3.08 lakhs approx) per person and force them to commit cyber fraud.”
Police believe the syndicate has trafficked dozens of Indians since 2022, with similar cases reported in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. Interpol has been alerted, and the Ministry of Home Affairs is coordinating with the MEA to identify and repatriate other trapped workers.
The rescued victims told investigators they were ordered to run online scams targeting people in East Asia, often under strict quotas and 18-hour workdays.
“We were made to message people on dating apps, lure them into investing in fake crypto schemes, and send the money to company wallets,” one survivor reportedly told police. “Those who refused were beaten or locked up.”
A Global Problem With Indian Victims
The Agra arrests have exposed the Indian link in a larger Southeast Asian cybercrime economy — an underground industry estimated to be worth billions. In recent years, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar have emerged as hotspots for “cyber scam compounds” that operate like prisons, holding thousands of trafficked workers from across Asia.
Investigators say India’s growing pool of digitally skilled but unemployed youth has become a prime target.
“This is modern slavery under the guise of the digital economy,” a senior cybercrime officer said. “The traffickers prey on economic aspiration — and turn it into exploitation.”
Both accused have been charged under sections 143(3) (trafficking), 318(4) (cheating), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police are now tracing their financial networks and identifying agents in Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai linked to similar job rackets.
