When Imtiyaz left India earlier this year, he believed he was heading toward a stable job opportunity that would finally help him support his family.
Instead, he found himself trapped in a brutal cyber-fraud factory in Myanmar’s lawless Myawaddy region — a place where trafficked workers from multiple countries were held under constant surveillance, forced to work 15-hour shifts, and punished if they resisted.
According to investigators, Imtiyaz’s daily routine inside the compound involved impersonating a woman to befriend American citizens online.
Using a translation app provided by his handlers, he spent long hours chatting, building trust, and identifying vulnerable people who could be manipulated.
Once he succeeded in obtaining personal details, senior operators would take over, ensnaring these individuals in investment scams or digital-arrest frauds — two of the fastest-growing forms of cybercrime globally.
300 Indians Deported — And Four From Delhi Found to Be Victims
Imtiyaz was among 300 Indians deported from Myanmar on November 19, following a major operation by Myanmar’s military authorities.
Delhi Police later confirmed he was one of four people from the capital who had been trafficked with false job promises and forced to serve as “cyberslaves” in a cramped call-centre–style facility.
The Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit described the location as a “scam compound,” a term increasingly used across Southeast Asia to refer to fortified buildings where victims trafficked for cyber fraud are confined and exploited.
Inside the ‘KK Park’ Cyber-Fraud Hub
Investigators learned that the compound Imtiyaz was held in was situated in the KK Park area of Myawaddy, a notorious hotspot controlled by criminal syndicates and militia groups. Here, cybercrime bases operate openly, employing thousands of trafficked workers.
It wasn’t just Indians — the compound held citizens from Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and multiple African nations. Each team inside the complex had a distinct role:
– Research teams identified people abroad who could be easily manipulated.
– Chat operators like Imtiyaz befriended targets on social media or dating apps.
– Senior fraud teams executed the actual scam — cryptocurrency traps, fake investment platforms, romance fraud, or digital arrest schemes.
According to police, Imtiyaz was forbidden from leaving the premises and could not step out without written permission.
Workers were routinely punished for failing to meet targets — forced to run laps, deprived of salary, or subjected to harsh disciplinary measures.
Two Recruiters Arrested in India
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) Vinit Kumar said that based on Imtiyaz’s testimony, two alleged recruiters were arrested — Danish Raja, 24, from Delhi’s Bawana area, and Harsh, 30, from Faridabad.
Police believe the pair are part of a larger transnational trafficking ring that has been sending Indians to Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia for cyber-slavery.
Investigators revealed that Imtiyaz was smuggled out of India through illegal channels — first flown to Kolkata, then to Bangkok, before being taken across the Thailand-Myanmar border into Myawaddy in March this year.
A special team led by Inspector Neeraj Chaudhary is now tracking the financial trail, analysing seized digital devices, and attempting to identify other recruiters who may still be active in India.
How the Case Came to Light
The operation began on October 22, when Myanmar’s military authorities raided the scam centre in Myawaddy. During the raid, they discovered several Indian nationals being forced to carry out fraud schemes targeting foreign citizens.
These rescued individuals were temporarily housed in a humanitarian camp.
With assistance from the Indian Embassy in Myanmar, they were finally repatriated on November 19. On arrival in India, they were screened by officials from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and Delhi Police to confirm whether they were victims of cyber-trafficking.
Police said both Danish and Harsh had previously been deported from Myanmar in August, but continued to recruit more Indians even after returning home.
A Growing Pattern Across Asia — Not an Isolated Case
Officials said that the case mirrors a disturbing pattern seen across Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, where thousands of Indian jobseekers have been trafficked in the past two years:
- In 2023, more than 130 Indian nationals were rescued from cyber-scam centres in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Many had been held at gunpoint and forced to target Americans and Europeans in crypto frauds.
- In 2024, the Ministry of External Affairs intervened after dozens of youths from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh were trafficked to Laos’ Golden Triangle SEZ, known for similar scam operations.
- Nepali and Sri Lankan authorities have also reported hundreds of citizens trapped in identical cyber-slavery networks.
Officials warn that India has become one of the biggest recruitment pools for such syndicates, largely due to unemployment, attractive overseas job scams, and the lure of high-paying “customer service” roles abroad.
Crackdown Intensifies
Delhi Police and I4C said they are now working in coordination with intelligence agencies, international partners, and cybercrime units to dismantle these networks. The focus is on:
- Identifying recruiters operating in India
- Tracing hawala transactions linked to scam compounds
- Blocking fraudulent job advertising networks
- Assisting victims and their families
