The Kochi City police have intensified investigation into an alleged human trafficking case in which seven people from four States were found confined in a rented building at Cheranalloor here on Friday (June 12, 2026).

Sources with the police said they had already identified a few people behind the racket, besides Abdul Rahim, a native of Siliguri in West Bengal, who was arrested on Saturday (June 13, 2026).

The investigators have found that Rahim was a key agent involved in what they suspect to be a larger human trafficking network. The building at Cheranalloor, where the victims were housed after allegedly obtaining large sums of money from them on the promise of facilitating their migration to Canada, had been taken on rent by Rahim, police sources said.

The police, however, have encountered a challenge in identifying the members of the racket, as they had allegedly provided false information to the victims, an officer said. “We are verifying the details provided by the victims,” he said. The case is being investigated by the Cheranalloor police.

The police said eight victims were brought to Kochi from Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka after being convinced that they would be flown to Canada at a later date. The victims were brought on different days this month, sources said.

However, the victims realised they had been cheated after they were reportedly made to record videos while standing in front of life-size flex boards depicting locations in Canada, which had been installed in the building. They were allegedly forced to send the videos to their families to convince their kin that they had reached the destination. They were confined to the building and allegedly assaulted by the group when they confronted the agents. The alleged crime came to light after one of the victims managed to escape.

The police have not disclosed details of the victims. “Their identities will be protected and their safe return ensured,” the officer said.