India investigates trafficking of citizens into Myanmar crypto scams

Police in Maharashtra state opened the case after the victim’s wife reported he was forced to work 16 to 18 hours a day under threat of electric shocks. According to the victim, hundreds of other Indians remain trapped in similar facilities near the Thailand-Myanmar border, where captors confiscated their passports upon arrival. Families report that criminal syndicates are now demanding ransoms of up to Rs 8 lakh—approximately $9,300—to secure the release of their relatives.

These networks typically recruit victims through social media advertisements for IT, data entry, and digital marketing roles with salaries around Rs 70,000. Once in Southeast Asia, victims are moved across the border to run online investment frauds using fake social media profiles. This incident follows a broader pattern of exploitation across Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos that has drawn international scrutiny. While the U.S. Treasury recently sanctioned a Myanmar militia for facilitating these syndicates, and Myanmar’s military has proposed life sentences for scam operators, the scale of the abuse remains severe. The FBI reported $11.4 billion in losses from crypto-related fraud in its latest data, with a significant portion of these operations based in Southeast Asian compounds. Indian officials are currently working to repatriate those still held, continuing efforts that saw over 120 nationals rescued from similar centers earlier this year.