Crime Branch Apprehends Key Player in International Job Scam
Duo in Mumbai Police Custody for Defrauding Job Seekers with False Promises of Lucrative Positions in Thailand; Victims Allegedly Compelled to Work in Bogus Call Centers in Laos.
MUMBAI: Two individuals have been apprehended by the Mumbai police’s crime branch for purportedly swindling numerous job seekers throughout India with promises of lucrative positions in Thailand. Jerry Philips Jacob, believed to be the ringleader, and his accomplice, Godfrey Thomas Alvaris, were apprehended on Monday upon their return to Mumbai from Laos, where they had resided since 2021. They appeared in court on Tuesday and were remanded in police custody until March 30.
Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner of police in the Mumbai crime branch, mentioned that Jacob had drawn the attention of central agencies, and both he and his associate were under surveillance before their apprehension. This scrutiny stemmed from over 50 complaints lodged against them.
Recruits were acquired by the duo through placement agencies scattered across India. They were then escorted to Bangkok with assistance from Chinese nationals, whereupon their passports were confiscated upon arrival. Subsequently, they were ferried by boat to nearby Laos. There, they were coerced into operating counterfeit call centers that swindled American and British citizens by persuading them to invest in cryptocurrency, as per Gautam’s statement.
Siddharth Yadav, aged 23 and residing in Wagle Estate, Thane, provided a detailed account of the accused’s method of operation in his police complaint. This led the crime branch to file an FIR against Jacob, Alvaris, and a third suspect identified as Sunny, a placement agent. Jacob and Alvaris were subsequently apprehended in relation to this incident.
In his complaint, Yadav stated that in 2022, while searching for a job, he encountered an agent named Rohit, who informed him about an opportunity with Jacob for a call center in Thailand dealing with cryptocurrency sales. Yadav was assured a monthly salary of ₹65,000 and instructed to depart India on December 30, 2022. He paid the agent ₹50,000 as a fee for the job and arranged two flight tickets as instructed: one from Mumbai to Bangkok and the other from Bangkok to Chiang Rai, a city near the borders of Laos and Myanmar. Upon arrival in Chiang Rai, Yadav was received by a Chinese national who escorted him to the immigration center along the Laos border. Another Chinese individual collected Yadav and other Indian recruits, primarily from Punjab and Delhi, confiscated their passports, and transported them to Laos via boat.
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