CBI arrests 4 traffickers who lured Indians through social media, forced them to join Russian Army

May 08, 2024

New Delhi, May 08 (ANI): The CBI has arrested four accused in the case related to the trafficking of Indian nationals to the Russia-Ukraine war zone. The two accused Arun & Yesudas Junior alias Priyan, were arrested from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala on May 07. The other two, Nijil Jobi Bensam and Anthony Michael Elangovan were nabbed from Mumbai on April 24. As per the CBI statement, these traffickers were luring Indian nationals through social media for highly paid-jobs in Russia. CBI’s action comes after a major human trafficking module was busted earlier on March 06, which targeted gullible youths. As per statement, accused Nijil Jobi Bensam worked in Russia and was a key member facilitating recruitment of Indian nationals in Russia army. Whereas, Michael Anthony facilitated his co-accused Faisal Baba based in Dubai and others based in Russia in getting Visa done in Chennai. Meanwhile, accused Arun and Yesudas Junior were the main recruiters of Indian nationals belonging to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Notably, MEA has “strongly” taken up the matter with Russia over Indians duped into working for Russian army in its battle with Ukraine.