Human trafficking to China, Gulf on the rise

The CBI has begun cracking down on the human trafficking racket which sees emigration agents sending people to China, the Gulf countries and other destinations without valid visas.

The CBI has booked a case of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Illegal Human Trafficking and Violation of Emigration Act against one Roshan Fernando, owner of New Delhi-based Devin Travels and Tours Limited.

Joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs and protector general of emigrants, M.C. Luther, had filed a complaint regarding alleged trafficking of Indians to China by Mr Fernando and his gang. The matter came to light when one Noor Alam complained to the Indian Consulate in Guangzhou in China that he was trafficked to China and was facing problems. He told officials five other Indians have been cheated by Mr Fernando and they are staying without proper accommodation or food and on invalid visas.

The job-seekers are given a single-entry tourist visa for China.

The Chinese accomplices of Indian agents snatch away their passports and force them to work for long hours and harsh conditions.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun cracking down on the human trafficking racket which sees emigration agents sending people to China, the Gulf countries and other destinations without valid visas.

In the complaint against Roshan Fernando, owner of Devin Travels and Tours Limited, joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs and protector general of emigrants M.C. Luther, said, “Noor Alam (victim) informed that the agency has been bringing 20 to 25 Indian intending emigrants to China with help of the gang’s Chinese accomplices every month on false job promises and deserting them in pathetic conditions. It appears that Roshan is running a human trafficking network by pushing unsuspecting jobless Indians to China with a false promise of good job and salary. Roshan is not registered under Section 10 and 24 of the Emigration Act and is operating illegal overseas employment activities.”

The CBI investigation found that in October 2016, Noor Alam of Uttar Pradesh was offered `50,000 per month as salary for a job in China by Mr Fernando, who took `2 lakh from him and handed him over to a Chinese agent who took away his passport.

He was given work on a fishing boat for 15 hours a day and when he was unable to withstand the harsh conditions at sea, he was given a job at a shoe factory. When he injured his hand in the course of his work, the factory threw him out.

After he approached the Indian Consulate in Guangzhou on February 9, 2017, he was repatriated to India. Officials say he would have landed in jail if he had not approached the consulate.

The CBI has verified that several Indians are living in China without a valid visa after being cheated by agents.