JALANDHAR – Reminiscent of the slave trade, Indian agents and their conduits in Iraq are minting millions of dollars “selling” young boys to owners of big farms and construction companies. Kulwinder Singh of Takhni village in Hoshiarpur said an agent in his village had charged him Rs 1.5 lakh for a job in the housekeeping department of the Iraqi army.
“Selling youths from India and other south Asian countries is a lucrative business in Iraq. Agents in India have numerous conduits in Iraq who sell the unsuspecting youths to sub-agents, who in turn sell them to owners of big agricultural farms and private construction companies,” he said.
“We first landed at Dubai and after a few days’ stay there, a conduit took us to Iraq. There, a woman agent purchased us and further sold us to a contractor for 600 US dollars,” he said.
