The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) has busted a gang that was recruiting Indians for cyber scam campuses run by Chinese criminals in Myanmar’s Myawaddy.
The sleuths arrested five persons — Vasam Goverdhan (35) Banothu Madhanlal (24) and Gangala Naveen, (26) from Telangana, Suggana Sudheer Kumar (26) from Andhra Pradesh and Syed Mohammad Madhani from Karnataka.
The CSB booked the gang members on November 22 after two victims, Sharan and Sangireddy Jeevan Reddy, returned to India and filed a complaint. They had been promised high-paying data entry jobs in Thailand. Once taken to Myanmar, their passports were seized, and they were forced to work in fraudulent call centres targeting innocent Indian citizens through investment scams, digital arrests, OTP harvesting and romance frauds. When they tried to leave, they were told to pay $5,000 and were forced to continue working.
According to CSB officials, the agents lured unemployed youth and earned commissions ranging from $3,000 to $5,000 (₹2,70,000 to Rs 4,50,000) for each recruit.
Interestingly, Sudheer and Madhanlal had themselves worked in these scam camps before becoming recruiting agents for HS Company, one of the firms operating out of Myawaddy. The two became friends while working in Mauritius and later shifted base to Myanmar. Sudheer introduced Madhanlal to his roommate Madhani, who told him that he could get a commission of up to $5,000 for each recruit.
Tempted by the offer, Madhanlal joined the operation and brought in Goverdhan, who was running an unregistered overseas employment agency in Hyderabad. The candidates were interviewed virtually, offered jobs, given air tickets and guided step by step until they reached Myanmar.
Speaking to THE WEEK, CSB Director Shika Goel said these gangs lure unemployed youth through social media posts and use legal travel channels to avoid raising suspicion. The five accused were tracked and arrested over the past week and have been remanded.