New Delhi, Jul 7 (KNS): The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday conducted searches at six locations in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in connection with its probe into a human trafficking and cyber slavery racket linked to Cambodia.
In a statement the agency said, the searches were carried out in Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran and East Champaran districts of Bihar, besides one location each in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
The premises of associates and supporters of arrested and absconding accused in the case were covered during the operation, the NIA said in a statement.
Incriminating materials, including smartphones, laptops and other digital devices, were seized from the searched locations, the agency said.
The case pertains to an organised syndicate allegedly masterminded by absconding accused Anand Kumar Singh alias Munna Singh, who was chargesheeted by the NIA along with four others — Prahlad Kumar Singh, Abhay Nath Dubey, Abhiranjan Kumar and Rohit Yadav — in May this year, officials said.
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Three associates of Anand were arrested earlier this year from Delhi after they returned from Cambodia.
The agency has found that the syndicate lured Indian youth with false promises of high-paying jobs in Cambodia. On reaching there, the victims' passports were confiscated and they were forced to work with scam companies engaged in cyber fraud, the NIA said.
The youth were recruited through sub-agents and travel agents operating in India before being trafficked abroad with the help of the accused and their associates, it added.
Statements of rescued victims have revealed that they were subjected to mental and physical torture for refusing to work, including electric shocks, confinement and denial of food and water, the agency said.
Efforts are on to trace the absconding accused and dismantle the remaining members of the international syndicate, the NIA added. (KNS)