Seven migrant workers held captive in alleged labor extortion in Kochi rescued

Cheranalloor police on Friday (June 12, 2026) rescued seven migrant workers who were trapped in a rented building on Mundiath Road near Cheranalloor by alleged interstate labor extortion. Police have arrested West Bengal native Abdul Rahim in connection with the incident, while at least 11 others allegedly involved in the racket are said to be on the run.

Rahim, a native of Siliguri, was arrested on the premises of Ernakulam Junction railway station. The victims, who hail from Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, were found in poor condition, police said.

According to the police, the accused collected ₹30,000 from the victims, all of whom had only school education, after promising to facilitate their migration to Canada. The victims were then taken to Kochi and allegedly held captive in a rented building. The accused also had the victims make videos to convince their families that they had reached Canada. The videos were filmed with the victims standing in front of life-size flexible boards with pictures of Canadian locations, police said.

Police acted on a tip-off after one of the victims managed to escape from the rented house. About 11 members of the racket fled with the money collected from the victims after sensing danger, police said.

The police also seized the mobile phones and passports of the victims and seized around ₹100,000 in cash from Rahim. On Friday, he was brought before the Magistrate’s Court and remanded in judicial custody. Efforts to trace the remaining accused have been intensified. Investigators suspect the group may have been involved in similar job scams in other states.

The rescue operation and arrests were carried out by a team led by Inspector Jayashankar under Ernakulam, Central Deputy Commissioner of Police Premanand Krishnan.

Published – 12 Jun 2026 22:18 IST