KATHMANDU, JULY 15
Nepal Police has arrested a 42-year-old Chinese national named Liang Jun alias Johnson on the charge of trafficking a Nepali girl to a third country by duping people and taking them hostage.
The Anti-human Trafficking Bureau of Nepal Police arrested the man on the basis of a police charge filed by a Nepali girl who escaped the clutches of fraudsters in Myanmar where she was forced to engage in various online scams.
The AHTB has said the team led by Jun had been sending Nepali women to various countries like Laos, Thailand and Myanmar with the purpose of forcing them to engage in illegal online racket. The victims were taken hostage in Myanmar and forced to engage in online scam. Originally from Gyansu Province of China and currently staying at Bijeshwori of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the Chinese national was involved in duping people by luring them with jobs in Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.
The girl who was able to come back to the country after paying ransom money to the hostage takers told police that she was duped into the illegal business on the pretext of offering decent job related to computers.
Police have concluded that at least 10 other girls have fallen prey to a similar racket operated by Liang and his gang. Upon reaching the destination country through different channels, the traffickers would confiscate their passports and mobile phones and force them to work up to 20 hours a day.
In an FIR lodged with the police, the girl said many other girls were subjected to physical and mental torture in the covert illegal offices in Myanmar from where she was able to escape.
They were trafficked to Myanmar on 25 July 2022 with the promise of taking them to Thailand and providing jobs related to computer operation.
However, after reaching Myanmar, they were taken to an office where they had to make fraudulent deals with foreigners, especially American citizens, through social media sites. The victims were often enticed to make payments in crypto currencies.
Police are looking for other accomplices of Liang in Kathmandu.
Liang had been visiting Nepal since 2018 on visitor and student visa.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 16, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
