A six-figure salary, “accommodation and food included” – for Tushar Ranpara, 26, a blue-collar worker in a Dubai hotel, the job offer in Thailand meant that all his dreams of a better life would come true. However, what transpired after Ranpara landed in Thailand was nothing short of a nightmare that lasted a year. Before he realised it, Ranpara was trafficked into Myanmar, where he was held hostage and subjected to brutal physical torture as the promised ‘call centre job’ was actually the front for a Chinese mafia-run cybercrime racket that defrauded unsuspecting people.
On Thursday, the Vadodara resident returned home to an emotional welcome by his parents and sister, and he struggled to process the reality that his ordeal had finally come to an end. Ranpara, who had been incommunicado for over six months after the captors took away his phone, was among the 197 Indian nationals repatriated from Thailand by the Indian government in two military aircraft. This was the second batch of Indians to have been repatriated since the October 22 raid in Myanmar’s Myawaddy ‘scam city’.
‘Among the lucky few who escaped’
Speaking to The Indian Express, Ranpara said, “It feels surreal… I do not know what I am going to do next, but I realise I am among the lucky few who managed to escape while several others continue to remain trapped and undergo torture.”
The ordeal began in September 2024 when he decided to “take the offer” of a Kerala-based agent in Dubai and move to Thailand. “After I showed interest in the job offer, a group of Chinese men interviewed me on video and said I had been picked. The agent then arranged my travel to Thailand from Dubai via Hyderabad. When I landed in Thailand, a car was sent to pick me up from the airport,” he said, adding that the trip was ostensibly to another city in Thailand.
“I did not know that I was being taken on a nine-hour drive to Myawaddy in Myanmar. I was interviewed again and asked to undergo training for two months… I had to sign a contract which included a clause that I would have to pay US$ 5,000 if I decided to leave in less than a year…,” Ranpara recalled.
Passport surrendered, no way to escape
Within the first five days, he realised that it was a trap. The training included operating social media applications like Facebook and Instagram as well as dating apps where Ranpara was given the identity of a woman to scout for potential cyber victims – well-settled Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in the United States.
“The brief was clear. They asked me to pose as a woman and taught me how to look for prospective targets… It had to be Indian men, aged over 40 and residing in the US for over 10 years. I simply had to send them friend requests on the apps, and if accepted, I would have to comment on their posts and pictures… When the communication increased, they would deploy real women or AI-generated calls in female voices to entrap the men in investment frauds and honeytraps,” Ranapara said.
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The Chinese mafia, he said, used its own applications to lure victims to deposit huge amounts of money for “investment” or in “bitcoin” by using the modus operandi of showing profits in the initial period before siphoning off the big investments into their accounts. He added, “As my passport had been surrendered to them, I had no way to escape…”
Attempts to contact embassy in vain
Ranpara said that although he had picked up the skill in a few days, he feigned ignorance to buy time and continued to undergo training for the mandatory two-month period. “I tried to send emails to the Indian Embassy (in Myanmar) but received no reply… They paid me about Rs 28,000 initially, but when I refused to work further, I was first sold to another Chinese gang operating from KK Park for US$ 5,000 and thereafter I was paid no money…”
He suffered physical torture and was threatened to be shot dead by the mafia’s private army. “The second handlers were brutal. They would inflict physical punishment if anyone refused to follow orders… For several days, I was locked in a black room without food to be mentally tortured. Then they would hang me upside down for 15 days straight. This happened twice. My phones had already been taken away, so there was no way for me to contact my family back home… I had lost my willpower completely,” added Ranpara, who arrived in India penniless. His father, Nagar Ranpara, arranged for bus tickets so he could travel from Delhi to Vadodara on Thursday.
Raid, escape and detention in Thailand
Then, on October 22 this year, a massive raid was conducted by the military at the KK Park cybercrime hub in Myawaddy. Ranpara said, “The entire city of Myawaddy is like a Chinese cybercrime empire. They even have an army and there is no way to escape. When the raid happened, there was panic and the Chinese handlers dragged and locked up every one of us in hidden rooms… However, about four or five groups managed to break open the door of our room and began to run…”
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“We also broke into the locker rooms and some of us managed to retrieve our passports. We ran almost 25 km before arriving at the Myanmar-Thailand border, where the Myanmar army allowed us to cross to Thailand… One has to cross a river by boat to reach Thailand,” he said.
Once in Thailand, the escapees were held at a detention centre near Mae Sot, where Thai officials asked them to pay a penalty of 4,000 Thai Baht or go to prison for eight days. “I had to go to prison as I had no money… So from October 30 to November 7, I remained in prison. By then, the Indian Embassy in Bangkok arrived to help us return to India.”
‘Don’t want to go to any other country again’
Ranpara, who broke down on seeing his family again, said he will never consider working abroad again. “I do not want to go to any other country…even Dubai, where I was a legal worker. This ordeal has taught me a big lesson. I want to tell anyone who is tempted by big promises or seeking big opportunities to earn quick money abroad that it is dangerous…,” he added.
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As for his family, they are relieved. While mother Rita could not hold back her tears, his father Nagar thanked the Indian Embassy for bringing his son back. Ranpara said he is glad to have received a second chance. “I want to thank everyone who helped us in this matter. While many people, including Indians are also working with the Chinese cyber mafia out of their own will, I wish that those who are trafficked and trapped will be rescued soon just like me. As for my future, I am going to let it sink in that I am safe and free… Then, I will pick pieces of my life back in India and restart afresh”.
In the first week of November, 270 Indian nationals were repatriated from Thailand in a similar manner. They were among nearly 1,500 people who had crossed over to Thailand from the KK Park hub in Myawaddy following the raids.
