Victim turns perpetrator; Bengal man held for luring people into cyber slavery in Laos
The accused, Shankar Sarkar (33), had first moved to Laos under the assumption that he was going to Serbia to work as a kitchen helper. However, Sarkar was forced to work in the scam compounds where those trafficked are made to perpetrate cyber fraud. He eventually started working for the agents in Chennai to recruit more people.
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CHENNAI: As part of the investigation of cyber slavery cases, Tamil Nadu police's Crime Branch-CID (CB-CID) has arrested a man from West Bengal for luring several Indian citizens into cyber slavery in Laos. Interestingly, the accused himself was a victim of cyber slavery.
The accused, Shankar Sarkar (33), had first moved to Laos under the assumption that he was going to Serbia to work as a kitchen helper. However, Sarkar was forced to work in the scam compounds where those trafficked are made to perpetrate cyber fraud. He eventually started working for the agents in Chennai to recruit more people.
In the recent case, Sarkar had liaised with Chennai-based agents Abdul Kadher and Syed to send nine people from Tamil Nadu to Laos in 2024 and collected 1000 dollars from the victims for immigration clearance. He worked from 2022 to 2024 in a scam compound in Laos after he paid Rs 3 lakh to the agents, police said.
After being promised a commission by an Ethiopian identified as James, Sarkar started recruiting Indians for the scam compounds, police said. Of the 1,000 dollars collected from five Indian victims, Sarkar received 2000 Chinese Yuan as commission.
Based on the complaint by one Arun of Salem in July 2024, CB-CID issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Sarkar after identifying his role in the cyber slavery scam. Syed and Abdul Kadher had already been arrested.
On December 3, Sarkar was detained at the Kolkata airport when he was about to fly to Laos. CB-CID went to Kolkata, got a transit warrant, and remanded him in judicial custody in Salem on Friday, an official release stated.
Tamil Nadu police have warned citizens not to fall prey to cyber slavery scams wherein youngsters are taken to Southeast Asian countries under the pretext of employment opportunities and made to engage in cyber frauds.
According to sources, over 1,000 persons have been victims of cyber fraud in the last two years. The fake agents lure the public through attractive jobs and send people abroad through tourist visas. Subsequently, these people are forced into cyber fraud activities for their survival.