New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday made a major breakthrough in the Laos human trafficking and cyber slavery case with the arrest of an absconding accused, who was nabbed with the support of the Delhi Police Special Cell.
Kamran Haider's arrest marked a significant step by the agency towards dismantling the international human trafficking syndicate.
Along with co-accused, the NIA said, Kamran was directly involved in arranging flight tickets and documents for the victims, and in facilitating their illegal border crossings, with the help of contacts in the Golden Triangle Region.
NIA had chargesheeted Kamran and four others in October 2024 in the case (RC-09/2024/NIA/DLI), relating to a well-organised network of traffickers and touts involved in various illegal activities. The four co-accused were identified as Manjoor Alam alias Guddu, Sahil, Ashish alias Akhil, and Pawan Yadav alias Afzal alias Afroz.
"All the accused were actively involved in sending vulnerable Indian youths to the Golden Triangle Region in Lao PDR, where they were forced to commit cyber scams targeting European and American citizens. They operated through a consultancy firm, Ali International Services, which operated as a front for human trafficking," NIA said.
Besides facilitating the entire operation, the anti-terror Agency said Kamran was also involved in extorting money through cryptocurrency wallets from victims who tried to escape the clutches of the Chinese scammers.
Kamran was carrying a cash reward of Rs 2 lakhs for his arrest and also had a non-bailable warrant issued against him by a special NIA court in New Delhi. (ANI)