Cambodia calling: TGCSB nabs UP man for job fraud

The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) apprehended a 37-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh involved in sending job aspirants illegally to Cambodia to engage in cybercrimes.

The police arrested Sadakat Khan from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested on November 2 at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi while returning from the Maldives, where he was taking shelter.

According to the TGCSB, in this case, three other agents, K Sai Prasad from Jagityal, Mohd Abid Hussain Ansari from Pune, and Mohd Shadab Alam from Bihar, were previously arrested. They were involved in the chain of agents orchestrating this operation.

The accused were acting as agents in India luring job seekers with promises of lucrative overseas employment, collecting substantial sums of money under the guise of processing fees, registration, and visa charges.

“Upon reaching Cambodia, the victims were handed over to Chinese handlers who forced them into cybercriminal activities. Any resistance from the victims resulted in physical violence and confinement. After months of exploitation, the handlers extorted further payments, often demanding payment in bitcoins, threatening them,” said a senior TGCSB official.

The case came to light in the month of May, after the family members of a youth from Sircilla filed a complaint alleging he had been lured to Cambodia after collecting Rs 1.4 lakh. After reaching there, he was confined and coerced into committing cybercrimes, working 16 to 17 hours a day, with his passport confiscated by the agents.

TGCSB officials said several other job seekers were duped by the suspects similarly and forced into online fraud for the same company. Following the complaint, TGCSB, in coordination with officials, successfully brought some victims back to Telangana.