Kozhikode: Two youths from Kerala's Malappuram district, who went to Thailand for job, have reportedly been abducted to Myanmar, where an armed group was forcing them to work as online fraudsters. Their families have complained to the Ministry of External Affairs seeking intervention for their release.
According to relatives, Shuhaib and Safir, natives of Vallikappatta in Malappuram had been held captive in Myanmar and an online fraud gang was forcing them to hack bank accounts of people across the world.
The youths had gone to Dubai on visitor visa on March 27. Later on, they came to know of a job vacancy in a company located in Thailand. They applied for the job and appeared in the online interview. Both got selected and received flight tickets to Thailand. Thus, they left from Abu Dhabi to Thailand and arrived at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport on May 22.
Relatives said that after reaching the airport they were taken by the agent to an unknown place, which was under the control of the gang. Both the youths contacted their families over phone when they got a chance and informed them about their situation, the relatives said.
The youths told that they were being forced to work as hackers and were trapped in an unknown place. They further said that there were many others, including Malayalis, who have fallen into this trap and are doing illegal activities against their will.
Their relatives have registered a complaint with the Ministry of External Affairs while the locals have formed an action committee to initiate efforts for their release.
Read more
