Cyber slavery case: key accused arrested at Bengaluru International airport

The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) arrested a key accused in a ‘cyber slavery’ and overseas employment fraud case at the Bengaluru International Airport last week.

The arrested was identified as Jai alias Babu, a native of Theni district who lived in Malaysia. The case pertains to several youth being trafficked to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos on the false promise of lucrative jobs and forced to work in cyber scam centres. The police said the victims were rescued and repatriated to India through the coordinated efforts of the Government of India and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). Based on the statements of those rescued, 26 cases were registered across Tamil Nadu and taken up for investigation by the CB-CID.

The Thanjavur CB-CID registered one such case on August 10, 2024, based on a complaint from Vettrivel, 48, of Thanjavur, who had been rescued from Cambodia. During the investigation, the first accused, Sundar alias Sundararajulu, was arrested on October 3, 2024. Investigators found that he had lured six persons from Thanjavur with promises of call centre jobs with attractive salaries. He allegedly collected several lakhs of rupees from five of them, and with the help of Jai, arranged their travel to Cambodia via Thailand.

The investigation identified Jai as a key recruitment agent. The police alleged that he coordinated with agents in Cambodia and trafficked the six victims to the compounds in exchange for money. The victims were allegedly forced to carry out investment scams by persuading people to invest through fake Bitcoin investment applications. Their passports were confiscated, preventing them from leaving the compounds, and they were subjected to physical and mental abuse if they refused to participate in the fraudulent activities, the police said.

After the investigation, a charge sheet was filed, which declared Jai as an ‘absconding accused’, and a lookout circular was issued against him. On July 16, 2026, Jai was arrested by the Thanjavur CB-CID shortly after his arrival at the Bengaluru International Airport. Further legal action is under way, the police said.