Beed probe finds 2,000 Indians may be trapped in Myanmar cyber scam

A police investigation in Maharashtra's Beed district has revealed that an estimated 2,000 Indians may be trapped in cybercrime compounds in Myanmar, lured by fake job advertisements on social media offering high salaries in Thailand. The probe began after Swapnil Kalunkhe, 24, a graphic designer from Beed, was allegedly trafficked in June after responding to a Facebook ad for a data entry job in Bangkok offering Rs 70,000 a month, according to Beed superintendent of police Navneet Kanwat.

The Hindustan Times reports that Kalunkhe was taken from Bangkok to an isolated location near the Myanmar border, where he is forced to work 16-18 hours a day in online fraud and subjected to electric shocks and beatings if he fails to meet targets. His wife, Sangita, said he told her that 700-800 Indians are held in the same facility. A similar case from Dharashiv involved a hotel management student lured with an Rs 80,000 monthly salary who was also taken to the border area, the report adds.

Separately, The New Indian Express reports that the CBI has arrested a man from Hisar, Haryana, for allegedly trafficking at least four Indians to scam compounds in Southeast Asia in 2025, in what investigators call 'cyber slavery'. The CBI said victims were forced to pay for their release or recruit a substitute before returning home, and that cryptocurrency transactions were being probed as possible commissions. The agency has urged job seekers to verify overseas offers through official channels.