Global trafficking: Nashik man in NIA custody
A special court here on Friday remanded in NIA custody till June 19 a Nashik-based man who was held by the central agency for allegedly being a key member of an international human trafficking syndicate that forces youngsters into illegal online activities, including credit card frauds and honey trapping.
Following his arrest earlier in the day, Sudarshan Darade was produced before special NIA judge AK Lahoti, with the central agency seeking remand of 15 days.
Appearing for the NIA, special public prosecutor Sandeep Sadavarte told the court Darade was a "key middleman" who was coordinating between the owners of a Chinese company based in Laos in southeast Asia and the recruiting agents.
Darade, who worked in Dubai drawing a handsome salary, was actively involved in this recruitment scam and had played a pivotal role in transporting youths from India to Laos via Thailand, the agency said.
Darade is the sixth person to be arrested in the case in less than three weeks. NIA had on May 27 arrested five other accused after multi-state searches in joint operations with the respective state police forces.
In a statement issued earlier in the day, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said the youths were being forced to work in fake call centers in Laos, including at the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, and Cambodia, among other places, through elaborate syndicates controlled and operated mainly by foreign nationals.
These syndicates were connected to operatives based in various parts of India as well as other countries like the UAE and Vietnam, besides Cambodia and Laos, it said. Trafficked youth were coerced into undertaking illegal activities online such as credit card fraud, investments in cryptocurrency using fake applications, and honey trapping, as per the NIA probe.
However, addressing the court in person, Darade denied the allegations against him and said he was just following the instructions of his boss.
Darade's lawyer Devendra Awhad argued that his client was a professional working with a forex trader in Dubai for several years now.
The lawyer submitted that the owner of the firm where Darade was working is a Chinese national and has a connection with the owner of the company that allegedly recruited youths.
He was just asked to help in logistic and administrative support, Awhad told the court and claimed his client was being made a scapegoat.
After hearing both sides, the court remanded Darade in NIA custody till June 19.