Cyber Crime
Indian Women Trafficked to Cambodia, Forced into Nude Calls by Chinese Gangs
In a disturbing revelation, many Indian women trafficked to Cambodia by Chinese cybercriminals are being forced to honey-trap unsuspecting individuals back home through explicit video calls. This alarming operation was exposed by Telangana resident Munshi Prakash, who fell victim to these fraudsters.
The Lure of Foreign Employment
Munshi Prakash, a BTech graduate in civil engineering, was working at an IT firm in Hyderabad when he began seeking employment abroad. He posted his profile on various job sites, hoping for better opportunities. Soon, he was contacted by Vijay, an agent in Cambodia, who promised him a job in Australia. However, Vijay informed Prakash that he needed travel history before moving to Australia and provided him with tickets to Malaysia.
“From Kuala Lumpur, I was taken to Phnom Penh on March 12,” Prakash, a native of Mahabubabad’s Bayyaram Mandal, recounted. Upon arrival, a local representative of Vijay collected US dollars equivalent to ₹85,000 from him. Shortly thereafter, Chinese nationals confiscated his passport and transported him to Krong Bavet, a large compound with multiple towers. Prakash was placed in Tower C with other Indians, all of whom were subjected to a ten-day training program aimed at creating and utilizing fake social media profiles of girls in Telugu and other languages.
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Torture and Exploitation
The conditions were brutal. Prakash was confined in a dark room for a week and endured severe torture. “When I fell sick, they took me out but forced me to continue scamming,” he added. Despite the dire circumstances, Prakash managed to record a selfie video detailing his ordeal and sent an email to his sister in Tamil Nadu, who promptly alerted the authorities.
Rescue Mission
The distress signal triggered a response from the Indian embassy, as well as the governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, culminating in Prakash’s rescue. Although Cambodian police initially rescued him from the traffickers on April 16, Prakash was subsequently arrested on fabricated charges imposed by the Chinese gang, leading to a 12-day stint in jail. Once the authorities verified the charges were false, he was deported to Delhi on July 5, along with nine other victims.
The Larger Crisis
Prakash revealed that approximately 3,000 Indians, many from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, remain trapped in Cambodia. Among them are women forced to engage in explicit video calls from their detention camps. During his ordeal, Prakash encountered victims from various regions, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Mumbai, and Delhi, all of whom had been deceived by false promises of overseas employment.
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The cybercriminal gang converts the proceeds from these scams into cryptocurrency, then into US dollars, and ultimately into Chinese Yuan, showcasing a sophisticated financial laundering operation.
Call for Action
This alarming situation underscores the urgent need for increased vigilance and stringent measures to combat human trafficking and cybercrime, ensuring the safety and security of vulnerable individuals. The international community must work together to dismantle these criminal networks and bring the perpetrators to justice, while providing support and rehabilitation for the victims.