KATHMANDU, Dec 15: What begins as a promise of a well-paid IT job abroad is increasingly ending in captivity, violence and forced cybercrime for hundreds of Nepali youths. Lured by agents with dreams of attractive salaries and comfortable lives, many are instead being trafficked to Myanmar and forced into online scamming operations.
Agents and brokers have been targeting innocent and unemployed youths, particularly from rural areas, offering lucrative IT jobs with good pay and benefits. Under this pretext, victims are taken to countries such as Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, only to be coerced into illegal cyber scamming rather than legitimate employment.
Instead of working in IT companies, victims are forced to use AI tools and various online platforms to extract money from citizens of developed countries, including the United States, Australia and Canada, through deceptive online messaging.
One such victim is Ramlal Silwal (name changed) from the Kathmandu Valley, who was promised a monthly salary of Rs 80,000 to Rs 100,000 but was instead forced into online fraud in Myanmar. In the third week of November last year, while searching for foreign employment, Ramlal met Raj Narayan Mahato at a snack shop in Kathmandu.
He was later introduced to Raj Narayan’s son, Ranjit Kumar Mahato, who claimed to be working at a Chinese company named “Fusion and Rudra” in Myanmar and earning handsomely. Ranjit offered Ramlal an attractive online sales job, assuring him that all travel and employment procedures would be managed for Rs 150,000.
Trusting the agent, Ramlal borrowed money and paid Rs 250,000 in cash. He was told that all travel documents would be handed over at the airport. He was then taken to Myanmar via New Delhi, India. It was only after reaching Myanmar that the reality became clear.
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Ramlal was forced to carry out online scams aimed at persuading American citizens to invest in Bitcoin. When he refused, saying he would not cheat people after paying so much to go abroad, his suffering began.
He was beaten, given electric shocks and deprived of food for refusing to work. Eventually, he was forced to comply. Made to work 14 to 15 hours a day, he endured severe physical and mental torture. He received no salary, and when he attempted to return home, he was instead asked to pay USD 7,000.
As his foreign journey turned into a living nightmare, Ramlal repeatedly pleaded with both Ranjit Kumar Mahato and Rajnarayan Mahato to help him return to Nepal, but his appeals were ignored. His ordeal ended only after the Myanmar army raided the facility and rescued the victims. Ramlal was among those freed.
According to his statement to the Anti-Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau (AHTIB), hundreds of victims were rescued during the raid.
“We were brutally exploited,” Ramlal said. “When the army suddenly arrived, we finally felt there was a chance to survive. There were not only Nepalis but people from many other countries as well. After the raid, the company operator fled.”
After being rescued, Ramlal managed to return to Nepal on December 10.
Authorities say such cases go far beyond foreign employment fraud and fall under serious crimes as defined by the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, 2007. Upon his return, Ramlal filed a complaint at the bureau, demanding the return of the money taken from him and strict legal action against those responsible.
According to SSP Krishna Pangeni of the AHTIB, incidents of luring Nepali youths with promises of high-paying jobs in the IT and hotel sectors and trafficking them through Nepal, India and Thailand to Myanmar for cyber scamming are increasing at an alarming rate.
He estimates that around 200 to 300 Nepalis have been trapped in cyber and online scamming operations under the guise of IT employment. “These incidents are rising day by day, with no sign of decline,” Pangeni said. “Victims continue to come forward, and we are taking action against the perpetrators accordingly.”
Pangeni said brokers typically transport victims from Thailand on a nearly 36-hour journey to a location in Myanmar known as “KK One Park.” Once there, victims are trained to communicate with people from different countries, lure them into romantic relationships, and convince them to invest in Bitcoin. Training includes how to find customers, respond to chats and trap victims.
“Daily targets are fixed, and if those targets are not met, victims face severe physical punishment,” Pangeni told Republica. “We have found inhumane practices such as beatings, electric shocks, confinement in dark rooms, forcing victims to carry heavy water jars up and down stairs, and making them do frog jumps.”
Victims are told they must pay up to Rs 800,000 if they want to quit or leave. Until the amount is paid, they are held hostage and forced to work, often for up to 18 hours a day, according to investigators.
Based on victims’ complaints, police arrested Ranjit Kumar Mahato of Sarlahi on December 10 and obtained a five-day remand from the Kathmandu District Court. Maniraj Rai of Khotang was also arrested on the same day and remains in custody as investigations continue.
According to AHTIB data, 16 cyber scamming cases have been registered in recent fiscal years—nine linked to Myanmar, four to Cambodia and three to Laos. Of the 47 people deported from Myanmar so far, cases have already been filed against two, while further investigations into the remaining individuals are ongoing.
