Trafficking Racket Busted After French Police Alerts CBI, Case Filed

Date: December 30, 2017

Location: New Delhi

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case of human trafficking in which 25 minor boys were trafficked by three agents to Paris last year on the pretext of organizing a rugby training camp.

Interestingly, CBI learnt about the human trafficking racket this year, only when French investigators caught one of the trafficked boys and approached Interpol.

CBI started a preliminary enquiry on Interpol’s information about a possible human trafficking network and found that three Delhi and Faridabad based agents – Lalit David Dean, Sanjeev Raj and Varun Choudhary, lured parents of 25 boys, all minors, sometime in early 2016, stating that their kids will be sent to France for a rugby training camp.

The parents, belonging to Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, were charged Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh each for the trip, said CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal.

After the 25 boys, aged between 13 and 18 years were selected, a small rugby training session was also organised by the accused persons here in India to convince the parents.

“The agents procured an invitation card from France about the purported rugby match, on the basis of which visa was procured from French embassy and to and fro tickets were booked,” said Dayal.

Sometime around February 2016, 25 kids reached France, where they were dumped in a Gurudwara by the agents or their representatives, said sources.

“In fact, a week’s rugby session was organised there in Paris as well,” said an officer. All this while, the documents including passport of 25 victims were kept by the agents and return tickets were cancelled without informing them or parents.

Two boys reportedly managed to return to India before the cancellation of return tickets.

Later, it was realised that rugby training was a ploy to send these 25 boys to France.

Meanwhile, one boy was caught by the French police earlier this year and Interpol was alerted. The Interpol informed CBI here in Delhi after which an investigation was started.

“It is not known yet where in France or Europe those 22 remaining kids are. They might have been sold to someone or put in some job,” said a CBI official requesting anonymity.

When asked if CBI had received any complaints from any of the parents, the officer said, “No. But it is possible that complaints are registered with state police forces, which we will check now.”

CBI is also exploring if parents had connived with the agents to send their kids to France.

Sources say that during raids on three agents on Friday, laptops carrying incriminating data about the network has been found, which is being scanned.

Read the Times Of India (source) article here.