mizzima.com-Aug 14
Criminal organizations, involved in cyber frauds and scams, have mushroomed all along the Moei River on Myanmar’s boundary with Thailand. Reportedly run by alliances of Chinese criminals and a local paramilitary group, they are beyond the reach of law enforcement, civil society, and media. This fraud industry became notorious last year, after reports of extensive human trafficking, forced labour, and regularized torture surfaced. Tens of thousands of workers globally have been trafficked into this industry, which began to take hold around 2019 and accelerated after Myanmar’s 2021 military coup. Lured in by promises of legal employment, a few victims have now come forward to share their grim tales. Two such individuals, Jane and Max from the Philippines, recently shared with the media their six-month ordeal. They came to Myanmar independently, in December and January last year, after responding to ads for high-paying jobs in Thailand. Jane was under the impression that she was applying for a job at Amazon. She had previously worked for the firm in the Philippines. She received communication through what seemed to be official Amazon email addresses and her recruiter handled her flight reservations to Bangkok. From the airport, however, she was driven 500 kilometers northwest to Mae Sot and ferried across the narrow Moei River into Myanmar. There, she was forced to scam Europeans and North Americans from a compound controlled by Chinese criminals. Max was too traumatized to even recall his nightmare. The situation inside these compounds is dire. Reportedly, the administrators at these centres seize the victims ’phones upon arrival and clean work devices before anyone leaves. Some leaked videos depict people subjected to electric shocks and beatings.
Victims are shackled, blindfolded, and compelled to sleep in cramped conditions. They are punished for not meeting the high quotas set by their overseers or merely for requesting to return home. Many have apparently died due to the torture and rumors of organ harvesting continue to circulate. Captured on a phone camera, these videos haven’t been verified. Read more at: https://www.mizzima.com/article/torture-and-terror-chinese-run-cyber-scam-hubs-myanmar
