Member Of International Cyber Slavery, Human Trafficking Network Held In Gujarat
On November 18, Gujarat Police's CCeoE had arrested Neel Purohit, alleged kingpin of an international cyber slavery and human trafficking network, from Gandhinagar.
Published : November 25, 2025 at 5:10 PM IST
Gandhinagar: Gujarat Police arrested an alleged member of an international cyber slavery and human trafficking network that operated from Myanmar and Cambodia on Tuesday, an official said.
The Gujarat Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCoE) arrested Payal Pradeep Singh Chauhan near Gayatri petrol pump in Gorwa of Vadodara. Two mobile phones, an iPad and a laptop were seized from her. Last week, the alleged kingpin of the network, Nilesh Purohit alias Neel Purohit was arrested by the police from Gandhinagar.
Payal has been accused of luring people from Gujarat into high-paying jobs in Southeast Asian countries, where they were forced into cybercrime and financially exploited. Upon refusing, the workers were held captive for extended periods and physically and mentally tortured, police said.
To rescue Indians trapped in cyber-slavery in Southeast Asian countries, Army operations have been conducted with the cooperation of the governments of India, Thailand and Myanmar. The rescued victims have been brought back to India on special flights, and their statements recorded in Delhi by several central agencies including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and state police.
Over the past three years, nearly 4,000 Indians have been repatriated. Interviews with the victims revealed involvement of Neel Purohit, and Payal Pradeep Singh Chauhan, who worked as his sub-agent.
According to police, Payal, on instructions of Neel, lured people from Gujarat with the promise of high-paying data entry jobs abroad and booked tickets to Southeast Asian countries. The victims were sent to Southeast Asian countries and upon arrival at the airport, Chinese gang agents confiscated their passports, mobile phones, and other documents, police said.
"They were then held hostage and illegally transported across the border via the Moei River, where they were trafficked to KK Park, Myawaddy Township, a border area in Myanmar. In the illegally operated Chinese hubs, they were coerced into various cybercrimes, including phishing, crypto scams, ponzi schemes, and frauds through dating apps, and forced into cyber slavery. If the victims did not cooperate, they were subjected to physical and mental torture and illegal detention for extended periods," a police official said.
Payal allegedly coerced the victims into committing various cybercrimes and colluded with international cyber syndicates and the Chinese cyber mafia, committing interstate and international cybercrime for monetary gain. During the investigation, passport details of Pakistani and Nepalese citizens were also recovered from the her mobile phone, the official added.
Investigation further revealed that, in addition to cyber slavery, Payal was also allegedly involved in cricket betting, providing gaming IDs, USDT, crypto, and mule accounts, police said. Investigation has revealed that the master ID of an online gaming betting company operating from Dubai and Goa was used for this operation.
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