India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing recruitment firms and has busted major international human trafficking networks involved in sending Indian youth to the Russia-Ukraine war zone by luring them with lucrative job offers, reports The Times of India. The law enforcement agency is investigating recruitment firms, including in Delhi, as well as Mumbai, Chandigarh and Dubai. It comes in the aftermath of the death of two Indians on Russia's border with Ukraine who were promised jobs in Russia only to end up fighting on the side of the Red Army. The investigation found that the networks lured Indian nationals on the pretext of highly paid jobs through social media channels like YouTube and Instagram, besides local agents.

Those in the law enforcement agency’s net are directors for firms including 24x7 RAS Overseas Foundation in Delhi; OSD Bros Travels & Visa Services Pvt Ltd, Mumbai; Adventure Visa Services Pvt Ltd, Chandigarh; and Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd, Dubai. They have been listed as accused in the agency's First Information Report. Besides them, the senior management of these firms are also under the scanner. CBI was in the process of initiating arrest procedures last week. According to the Tribune India, the central probe agency’s report listed 17 other visa consultancy companies, their owners and agents spread across India, they said.

A CBI officer told the Times of India that the trafficked Indian nationals were trained in combat roles and deployed at " front bases" in the Russia-Ukraine war zone against their wishes. Some of them also got grievously injured with sources adding that 35 such men have been identified until now.