NIA conducts searches in six states in human trafficking, cyber fraud case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday conducted extensive searches at 22 locations in six states including Punjab in a human trafficking and forced cyber frauds case.

The premises of 17 suspects were searched in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Punjab as part of the agency’s ongoing investigations in the case, linked with an organised trafficking syndicate engaged in trafficking of Indian youth to Southeast Asian countries.

The suspects have been identified as sub-agents, associates and relatives of Cambodia based Indian agents involved in trafficking Indian youth to Cambodia.

These suspects were involved in trafficking the job seeking youth to foreign countries, and managing their financial transactions and other logistics, the NIA probe revealed.

The searches led to the seizure of several digital devices including mobile phones, hard drives, memory cards, laptop and incriminating documents , along with property and financial documents.