CBI busts network sending Indians to Ukraine war zone

New Delhi, March 7

Amid reports of several Indians being sent to Russia on the pretext of lucrative jobs, but forced to fight alongside Russian troops against Ukraine, the CBI on Thursday busted a major human trafficking network.

The CBI has registered a case against agents and visa consultancy firms which is spread across several states. The agency is conducting simultaneous searches at 13 locations in Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Ambala, Chandigarh, Madurai and Chennai. The firms found involved in the alleged human trafficking network were identified as 24×7 RAS Overseas Foundation, KG Marg, New Delhi, and its director Suyash Mukut; OSD Bros Travels & Visa Services Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, and its director Rakesh Pandey; Adventure Visa Services Pvt Ltd, Chandigarh, Punjab, and its director Manjeet Singh; Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd, Dubai, and its director Faisal Abdul Mutalib Khan, alias Baba. The CBI stated these traffickers had been operating as an organised network and were luring Indian nationals through social media channels like YouTube, etc., and also through their local contacts/agents for highly paid jobs in Russia.

Thereafter, the trafficked nationals were trained in combat roles and deployed at front bases in the Russia-Ukraine war zone against their wishes, putting their lives in grave danger. It has been ascertained that some of the victims also got grievously injured in the war zone.

In this regard, a case of human trafficking was registered on March 6 against private visa consultancy firms and agents and others who have been found engaged in the trafficking of Indian nationals to Russia under the guise of better employment and high-paying jobs.