KERALITE YOUTHS CAUGHT IN A CYBER SNARE

Seven Keralites were among the 283 Indians who were recently rescued from the custody of cyber fraudsters in Myanmar and brought back to the country. Dinesh Kallungal, M.P. Praveen and Sam Paul A. catch up with the youths on their return to Kerala to unravel the murky world of human trafficking and cybercrime

- 

Aneesh, 40, a resident of Alappuzha district, underwent major surgery in August 2024 to treat three blockages in his coronary arteries.

He came across a social media advertisement in November seeking call centre executives in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, with a monthly salary of 6,000 Chinese yuan (around 272,000) during the days of his financial crisi

Aneesh, who was working as a restaurant manager then, wasted no time in applying, unaware that it would land him in serious trouble, turning him into a victim of labour fraud and human trafficking.

He attended an online video interview conducted by a woman and was declared selected. She sent him the visa and a free flight ticket. Aneesh boarded a flight to Bangkok from Delhi on the night of December 15, 2024 with hopes of rebuilding his life. Everything seemed fine until he landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

Outside the airport, a cab driver was waiting for him with a placard with his name printed on it. There were not many conversations between the passenger and the driver except the essential ones as the vehicle sped past urban areas and deserted villages.

“After travelling for around five tedious hours, he took me to a riverbank reportedly on the Myanmar border. A motor boat was ready there waiting for me. I was asked to board the vessel, which sliced through the waves to take me to the other side of the river,” recalls Aneesh...

At sunrise, Aneesh realised that he had reached the KK Park building complex located at Myawaddy Township, Myanmar. The imposing multi-storey enclave that housed dozens of firms is located next to the Moei river on the Myanmar-Thailand border. It’s from this building complex that some alleged international online scamsters are operating their cyber factories to entrap unsuspecting victims. Initially, Aneesh was assigned data entry work. However, since his typing speed was low, he was given training to improve it.