Noida: Cybercrime police in Noida on Tuesday arrested a man for allegedly trafficking youngsters to Southeast Asia and involving them in online frauds, said officials on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Shubham Pundir, 27, was arrested late at night from his residence in Shamli district. Posing as a recruitment agent, he lured the youth by promising high-paying overseas jobs before handing them over to cybercrime syndicates operating abroad, said officials.
The case came to light after a Sector 73 resident filed a complaint at the cybercrime police station on Monday, alleging that Pundir took ₹80,000 from him after promising him a job abroad. The complainant was sent to Thailand and then the frauds took him to Myanmar.
“The victim identified the accused. He told us that he was forced to target people across different countries. He was made to send greeting messages and interact with victims on social media to deceive them and extract money.” said ADCP (cybercrime) Shavya Goyal.
The victim was later rescued in a joint operation conducted by the Union home ministry, foreign ministry, and the CBI in coordination with Southeast Asian governments, said police.
The accused had criminal cases registered against him in Mumbai in 2024. Officials said they are examining whether others were involved in the racket. “He was the main handler and used to meet the victims,” ADCP Goyal said.
A case has been registered under the BNS sections for cheating, cheating by personation, and trafficking of persons among others and the IT Act.