Mumbai: Bombay High Court refused bail to a man who allegedly trafficked educated youth under the guise of employment in a Southeast Asian country and compelled them to engage in fraudulent cyber activities.“The offence is serious in nature. It appears that after release on bail, the appellant is likely to abscond and tamper with the prosecution evidence,” said Justices Ajey Gadkari and Shyam Chandak on Tuesday.They dismissed Dahisar (E) resident Jerry Jacob’s appeal against the NIA court’s Dec 6, 2025, order that declined to release him on bail. According to the prosecution, in Oct 2022, Jacob and the co-accused entered into an agreement to recruit 1,000 ‘live chat agents’ for the LongSheng company in Laos.After the youth were taken to the Golden Triangle SEZ, they were instructed to create social media profiles, converse with people from other countries, discuss cryptocurrency investments, and download mobile applications. Once the targeted persons deposited money, they were shown profits. The money, however, was transferred to the accused.On a recruit’s complaint, on March 23, 2024, Vile Parle police registered an FIR under IPC, including for trafficking and extortion. Jacob was arrested the next day. Subsequently, the NIA took over the probe.
