Andhra Pradesh police reported on Tuesday that approximately 300 Indians 'revolted' against their handlers in Cambodia on May 20, resulting in the majority of them being arrested in the foreign country.

According to the police, around 150 young people from the port city and nearby areas have been stranded in Cambodia for a year. They are being forced by Chinese handlers to engage in cybercrime and Ponzi schemes.

Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner A Ravi Shankar noted that these trafficked Indians caused large-scale riots in Jinbei and Compound, Sihanoukville in Cambodia, which is allegedly a hub for cybercrime.

"Many people called up Visakha city police WhatsApp numbers and sent videos. Yesterday (Monday), around 300 Indians 'revolted' in a large scale against their handlers in Cambodia," said Shankar in a release.

Vizag police arrested Chukka Rajesh, S. Kondala Rao, and M. Jnaneshwar Rao on May 18 on charges of human trafficking. They allegedly deceived young individuals from India with promises of data entry jobs in Singapore but instead trafficked them to Cambodia for involvement in cybercrime activities.

Upon reaching Cambodia, the youths would reportedly be held captive, subjected to torture, and coerced by Chinese handlers into perpetrating various scams, including task game fraud, stock market fraud, and others, as per the police.

In an attempt to assist, the police reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and other relevant departments to facilitate the safe repatriation of the youths, as most of them have been detained in jail following Monday's 'revolt'.

According to Visakhapatnam Joint Commissioner of Police Fakkeerappa Kaginelli, nearly 5,000 Indians were trafficked to Cambodia from across the country through various agents.

Kaginelli told PTI that with the three arrested persons, 150 youth have been traced to Cambodia.

Image source: Tribune India