The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted searches in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh as part of its investigation into an international human trafficking and cyber fraud network that allegedly lured Indian youths abroad with fake job offers before forcing them to work in cyber scam centres in Myanmar.
According to the NIA, search operations were carried out in Durgapur, West Bengal, and Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh. The agency expects the raids to yield crucial digital and documentary evidence linked to the trafficking racket, cybercrime operations and the wider international network involved in the case.
The searches come nearly five months after the NIA filed a chargesheet in February 2026 before a special court in Panchkula, Haryana, against three accused—Ankit Kumar alias Ankit Bhardwaj, Ishtikhar Ali alias Ali, and an absconding suspected Chinese national identified as Lisa. They have been charged under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 24 of the Emigration Act.
The investigation revealed that the accused, along with Indian and foreign associates, allegedly targeted economically vulnerable Indian youths seeking overseas employment. Victims were promised legitimate jobs in Thailand and made to undergo online interviews to create the impression of a genuine recruitment process.
According to the NIA, arrested accused Ankit Kumar and Ishtikhar Ali allegedly managed the recruitment process and introduced victims to Lisa through online interactions, portraying her as an authorised foreign recruiter. Investigators believe Lisa is linked to a Chinese network operating from Myanmar and remains absconding.
The victims were first flown from India to Thailand and were then illegally transported across the border into Myanmar’s Myawaddy region without following legal immigration procedures. The area has emerged as a major hub for organised cyber scam compounds operating across Southeast Asia.
Once inside Myanmar, the trafficked victims were allegedly forced to participate in cyber fraud operations against their will. They were instructed to create fake social media profiles and contact people in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, persuading them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency and other fake online investment schemes.
The NIA said victims who refused to participate in these illegal activities were confined, threatened and subjected to physical and psychological coercion. They were also allegedly forced to pay large sums of money to secure their release, while many remained under constant surveillance to prevent them from escaping.
Investigators believe the case exposes a sophisticated transnational criminal network involved in human trafficking, illegal overseas recruitment, cross-border crime and cyber-enabled financial fraud. The agency suspects that the network includes agents and facilitators operating across India and several Southeast Asian countries.
Renowned cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said cyber scam compounds operating in Southeast Asia have increasingly become a new face of human trafficking. He advised job seekers to independently verify overseas employment offers and use only authorised recruitment agencies while applying for jobs abroad. He also stressed that prompt reporting of suspicious recruitment activities and close cooperation among international law enforcement agencies are essential to dismantle such organised criminal networks.
