MUMBAI, June 11 -- A special court constituted under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday cleared the decks for the commencement of the trial in a case involving an alleged international human trafficking-cum-cyber fraud racket that lured Indian youths with fake overseas job offers and allegedly forced them to run online scams from Laos. Special Judge Chakor S Baviskar framed charges against accused Jerry Jacob, Godfrey Alvares and Sudarshan Darade under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Emigration Act, holding that there were sufficient grounds to proceed against them. All three accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. According to the prosecution, the accused, along with several absconding associates, including foreign nationals, were part of an organised transnational network operating through a Laos-based entity known as the LongSheng Company. The network allegedly recruited Indian youths by offering what appeared to be legitimate overseas employment opportunities. The NIA alleged that victims were promised jobs in Thailand but were instead sent abroad on tourist visas and routed through Thailand into Lao PDR. Once there, they were allegedly coerced into participating in online financial and crypto-investment scams targeting unsuspecting victims across the world. Investigators have alleged that Jacob and Alvares played key roles in recruiting and transporting Indian job seekers to Laos. According to the agency, Darade signed recruitment agreements on behalf of the company and, acting on his instructions, Jacob arranged for recruits to be transported to the Golden Triangle region of Laos. The NIA further alleged that once in Laos, recruits were trained and provided with multiple mobile phones, SIM cards and social media accounts to contact potential victims online and persuade them to invest through fraudulent applications....