Trafficking ring used FB ad to lure 2 Karnataka men: Police

Two men from Karnataka were lured by a Facebook advertisement offering overseas jobs and became foot soldiers in an alleged cybercrime ring run by an international human trafficking network.

The men were confined to a compound in Myanmar's Kayin State and rescued on Monday in a joint operation by the state Cyber Command, Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, and Indian Embassy in Myanmar.

After responding to the ad, the men provided personal details, had a brief virtual interview with a recruiter who never appeared on camera, and received visas and airline tickets to Bangkok within two days.

They left Bengaluru on July 10, were tracked via WhatsApp during their journey, and were escorted by men in military uniforms across the Thailand-Myanmar border to a guarded compound in Kayin State.

Upon arrival at the compound, the men's passports were seized, and they were forced to sign documents before being assigned work.