A 28-year-old woman from Nagpur was allegedly trafficked to Portugal and forced to work at a beer shop after a Pune-based consultancy promised her a lucrative overseas job, police said.
The woman reportedly came across a consultancy called ‘We Migrate’ through Instagram last month. According to her complaint, the operators promised her a cashier’s job in Portugal with a monthly salary of ₹1.5 lakh and told her that she would have to work only eight hours a day.
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Believing the offer, the woman allegedly paid the consultancy around ₹11 lakh in several instalments for visa processing, documentation and other formalities.
However, her experience changed after she arrived in Portugal.
According to the complaint, the alleged agents took away her passport and confined her to a room for two days. She was subsequently allegedly sold to a beer shop owner, where she was forced to work and subjected to physical and mental torture.
The woman reportedly asked the alleged traffickers to return her passport, but they allegedly demanded more money instead.
After enduring nearly a month in the situation, she managed to find a way to escape. She first travelled by bus to Lisbon and then made her way to Madrid. From there, she returned to India via Doha.
However, the ordeal allegedly continued even after she reached home.
According to police, the accused demanded another ₹3 lakh from the woman, claiming the money was required to arrange a job for her in Malta. When she refused to pay, the accused allegedly threatened to kill her husband and implicate her in false cases.
The woman subsequently approached the Pune police and reported the alleged trafficking, fraud and extortion.
Police have registered a case against eight people, including operators associated with the ‘We Migrate’ consultancy. The accused have been booked under relevant provisions relating to human trafficking, cheating and extortion, according to officials.
A search for the accused is currently underway.
The case highlights the risks faced by people seeking employment abroad through unverified recruitment agencies and social media advertisements. Promises of high salaries and easy overseas employment can sometimes be used to lure job seekers into fraudulent schemes.
Authorities advise prospective overseas workers to verify recruitment agencies, employment contracts, visa details and the authenticity of foreign employers before making payments or travelling abroad.
