Gandhinagar, March 5 (IANS) The Cyber Centre of Excellence of the Gujarat Police has arrested two men accused of recruiting individuals and sending them abroad to work in cyber fraud operations linked to international cyber slavery networks, officials said on Thursday.

The accused have been identified as Kaushik Pethani from Amreli and Dhruv Dobariya from Surat. The arrests were made following specific intelligence inputs received by the police.

According to investigators, the two allegedly targeted unemployed youths in Gujarat and other parts of India by promising well-paid jobs overseas and arranging their travel to countries where cyber fraud centres operate.

Investigators said Pethani was known in cyber scam circles by the alias “Ali Baba” and allegedly handled end-to-end arrangements for sending recruits abroad for cyber slavery networks.

Vivek Bheda, Superintendent of Police at the Cyber Centre of Excellence, said the investigation had uncovered a recruitment network operated by the accused.

“Cyber Centre of Excellence in Gujarat is committed to controlling all types of cyber crimes. Keeping this in mind, a serious cyber fraud is cyber slavery. Two agents of cyber slavery have been arrested in this regard,” Bheda said.

Police said the accused promoted overseas job opportunities through social media platforms, including WhatsApp and Telegram.

Prospective candidates were first called for interviews and given practice in writing and communication, along with soft skills training.

After this stage, the accused allegedly arranged passports, booked flight tickets and managed other travel arrangements for the recruits.

According to investigators, individuals sent to countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos were later forced to engage in cyber fraud activities, including cryptocurrency scams, online investment fraud and other forms of online cheating.

Police said victims were allegedly kept at controlled locations where their passports and mobile phones were confiscated.

Those who refused to participate were reportedly subjected to physical and mental harassment and prevented from returning to India.

Investigators said the accused charged between Rs 70,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh from each recruit. The network allegedly targeted people not only from India but also from Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Police said Pethani acted as the main agent in the network while Dobariya assisted him as a sub-agent.

So far, investigators have found that Dobariya had sent at least five people abroad, though the total number of individuals recruited through the network is yet to be determined.

Authorities said individuals linked to the racket had previously travelled to the United Arab Emirates, Laos, Thailand and Sri Lanka in connection with cyber slavery activities.

During the probe, police also received information suggesting plans to establish new cyber fraud centres in South Africa and Georgia.

Officials said the investigation is continuing to identify other members of the network and gather information about people who may have been sent abroad from Gujarat and other states through the racket.

Police added that further arrests are possible as the probe progresses and urged the public to remain cautious about unknown agencies or social media advertisements offering overseas jobs.

–IANS

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