Lucknow man arrested for trafficking youth to Myanmar

A cyber fraudster was arrested in Lucknow for trafficking young people to Myanmar with fake job offers. The suspect, Zeeshan Khan, was caught during a police operation on Tuesday. He had several smartphones, two passports, and multiple bank accounts. Khan is part of a gang that promised jobs in data entry and sales marketing but instead forced victims into cyber fraud. The gang lured people claiming they would take them to Thailand, but they ended up in Myanmar where their passports were taken away. Victims were told they would need to pay ₹ 3 lakh to return home. Two other gang members were arrested earlier. They were identified as Javed Iqbal and Mohd Ahmed Khan. Iqbal revealed that the gang operated under the direction of Raffaq Rahi, an alleged HR professional in Myanmar who ran the fraud operations. The police discovered that the gang had been using various bank accounts to collect money from victims. They converted this money into cryptocurrency and sent it abroad. In total, 41 cyber crime complaints were linked to the gang. The case came to light after several local residents filed complaints, leading to a rescue operation involving forces from Myanmar, Thailand, and China. Around 540 victims were rescued, including 38 from Uttar Pradesh. They have now returned to India with help from the Ministry of External Affairs.