Trafficking racket: Interpol notice against kingpin

NEw new delhi: Interpol has issued a red river mark against Sunny Gonsalves, a francis scott key accused in the confederacy probe into the organised trafficking syndicate engaged in luring and trafficking of Indian youth to the south east Asian countries and forcing them into illegal activities including working at fake call centres duping people across the world, people familiar with the development said.The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and police forces from several states are investigating instances of human trafficking linked to the racket.Recently, a large number of Indian nationals working in call centres in Myanmar fled to Thailand, following a crackdown on several scam centres.An officer familiar with the development said Gonsalves, aged around 29, a native of Maharashtra, is a key accused in the entire human trafficking chain. “An Interpol red notice has been issued recently against him based on a request by Indian agencies. The notice will allow member countries to locate him and arrest him,” said an officer, who asked not to be named.In a charge sheet filed September 2024, NIA had declared Gonsalves, and foreign nationals, Niu Niu and Elvis Du absconding. Another key accused in the case, Sudarshan Darade — the CEO of Laos-based Long Sheng company — was arrested by the Mumbai police in June 2024.To the Indians trafficked to Thailand or other countries in the region, an officer said, Gonsalves “gave local SIM cards, a USA SIM card and phones and explained the job to them – creating fake IDs and profiles with assumed foreign names on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok and chat with users”.“NIA investigations have revealed that Darade’s company, Long Sheng, based in Bokeo province of Laos PDR, was actively involved in the racket related to trafficking of youth to the Golden Triangle [Special Economic Zone] Laos PDR via Bangkok on the pretext of job offers. The company would conduct WhatsApp interviews and send appointment letters to the youth, who, on reaching the destination, were forced to commit online crypto currency frauds. On Darade’s instructions, other accused would arrange for the transportation of the Indian youth to the Golden Triangle Laos,” said the NIA.The agency said in its statement in 2024 that “refusal by the trafficked youth to engage in cyber fraud led to starvation and lashing. Some youth were even given electric shocks if they failed to meet their targets of befriending prospective victims on social media”.Sidharth Yadav, one of the victims who was rescued from Thailand earlier last year , told HT that Gonsalves used to threaten them, and keep their documents with him so that they could not flee and seek help.