Kolkata, Jan 24 (IANS): West Bengal is becoming the choicest hub for setting up operational bases by inter-state online racket gangs targeting foreign citizens.

These are the recent findings of both central and state law enforcement agencies after busting some such rackets in the state.

Sources said that while targeting West Bengal on this count, such inter-state rackets follow a definite pattern for setting up operational bases there.

The first step is identification of the locations for setting up such operations.

Rented office accommodations in and around Kolkata are being given the maximum preference, especially those pockets that house many ordinary ITES sector units.

The second step, sources added, involves recruitment of unemployed youths with workable knowledge of Information Technology and then arranging for their proper training before engaging them in forgery rackets.

An interesting thing that the state and Kolkata Police have unearthed is that often experts from other states come to West Bengal for a certain period of time to conduct the training of the new recruits.

A state police insider said that earlier this week two such trainers were arrested from Nakashipara area in Nadia district and both of them came to West Bengal from Champaran district in neighbouring Bihar to conduct detailed training programmes for the new recruits.

They were arrested along with their local agents in Nadia district who had arranged for the logistical support to conduct the training.

Currently all four of them, namely Abhishek Kumar Rajak, Jitendra Kumar, Souvik Kar and Faizan Mondal are in police custody.

After the first two steps are over, sources added, the final step is to give the rented offices the camouflage of a call centre and then subsequently start the forgery operations involving the new recruits.

On Thursday, the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) busted such a racket in West Bengal by conducting parallel raid and search operations at 10 such operational bases of the rackets in and around Kolkata.

The racket involved defrauding overseas citizens under the pretext of providing them with software- related services through fake call centres and thereafter diverting the proceedings collected abroad in the form of cryptocurrencies.