Cambodia Cyber Fraud-Human Trafficking Probe Report to Be Handed Over to DGP Soon

Kochi: The investigation report on human trafficking carried out by cyber fraud rackets operating out of Cambodia is set to be handed over to the DGP shortly. A seven-member investigation team of the Kochi City Police is in the final stages of recording statements from over a dozen victims, with officers visiting the homes of victims across various districts to take their statements.

The investigation team has identified more than a dozen Malayalis who were trafficked to Cambodia by the prime accused, Abdurahman, a native of Palakkad. The victims' passports were confiscated before they were taken by road from Thailand into Cambodia. Lacking valid documents, they were subsequently deported from Cambodia.

Based on the statements recorded, the investigation team plans to register a human trafficking case against Abdurahman and the other accused. A detailed investigation report, prepared under the supervision of an ACP, will then be submitted to the DGP. Kerala Police will also request central agencies to register a case of human trafficking in the matter.

Once the statement-recording process is complete, Abdurahman, currently in remand, will be taken back into custody for further questioning. His bank accounts and asset details are being examined. Abdurahman had reportedly told investigators that around Rs 3 lakh was charged for trafficking each individual, of which he received about Rs 2 lakh after paying the rest to other members of the gang. Preliminary findings suggest close to a hundred people were sent to Cambodia through this racket.

Abdurahman was arrested in connection with a case involving the cheating of Rs 37 lakh from a doctor he had met through a matrimonial website, with the probe codenamed "Operation Cambodia." The Chinese-run racket carried out its fraud through advertisements for trading and loan apps on social media, as well as through matrimonial websites. Investigators also found that the gang had created over a thousand fake matrimonial profiles using the names of both men and women.