Ex-Merchant Navy Captain Arrested for Cyber Slavery Racket Trafficking Indian Youth

A 35-year-old ex-merchant navy captain accused of running a cyber slavery racket that trafficked Indian youths to Cambodia on the pretext of overseas jobs was arrested by a cyber crime team, police said on Friday. Accused Nagesh Kumar alias ‘Captain Chauhan’ of Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, was held in Chandigarh and brought to Agra on transit remand Thursday evening. Police said Kumar, who quit his job and was involved in the racket for past three years, lured youths from major UP cities like Agra and Kanpur with promises of lucrative jobs and sent them to Thailand, from where they were further trafficked into Cambodia and Laos and “sold to Chinese-run cyber fraud firms”. DCP (cyber crime) Aditya said, “The racket came to light in Sept 2025 after several youngsters from Agra, Kanpur and other parts of the country claimed they were cheated and trapped in cyber scam centres run by Chinese firms in Southeast Asia. The accused had been on the run for six months and his name surfaced during interrogation of three other arrested accused — Ajay Shukla, Rouni alias Atif Khan and Aamir Khan.” Complainants told cops about the scam and how they were forced to work in call centres targeting Indian citizens via WhatsApp calls and other online platforms. An FIR was subsequently filed at Agra’s cyber crime thana under BNS sections 143(3) (trafficking of person), 318(4) (cheating) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy). According to police, those refusing to work were confined, harassed and forced to recover the money spent on them. Families were pressured into sending money for their release, police said. Aditya added: “Kumar used to work as a merchant navy captain and travel extensively. That’s how he established contacts with global syndicates. Two of those forced by him into ‘cyber slavery’ managed to return to India on Aug 25, last year, and later approached police. Investigation has been underway since.”