NEW DELHI: The Indian embassy in Laos has rescued 67 Indian men who were duped and trafficked into cyber-scam centres operating at a special economic zone, taking the total number of citizens saved from such scams in the Southeast Asian country to 924, the mission said in a statement.
The men were forced to work “under intimidation and abuse by criminal syndicates” operating at the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Bokeo province of Laos, the embassy said on Monday.
Officials from the Indian embassy in Vientiane responded to requests for help from Indian nationals, and a team travelled to the special economic zone and worked with Lao authorities to complete procedures and paperwork to enable the men to leave the area and travel to the capital city.
Arrangements for accommodation and food for the Indian nationals were made by the embassy, which is currently working with Lao authorities to complete exit formalities so that the men can be sent back to India.
Over the past three years, hundreds of Indian nationals have been lured by criminal gangs operating such scams in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.
Chinese criminal syndicates are believed to be behind what has come to be known as the “pig butchering” scam, which involves online fraudsters convincing people to deposit money into fake platforms. The name is derived from the analogy to a farmer fattening up a pig before slaughtering it.
{{/usCountry}}Chinese criminal syndicates are believed to be behind what has come to be known as the “pig butchering” scam, which involves online fraudsters convincing people to deposit money into fake platforms. The name is derived from the analogy to a farmer fattening up a pig before slaughtering it.
{{/usCountry}}India’s ambassador to Laos, Prashant Agrawal, met the 67 men to discuss challenges faced by the youth. He assured them of their safety and the embassy’s full support for their safe return to India.
Agrawal also advised them about the action they could take, including the lodging of complaints against the agents who duped them, the embassy said.
The embassy said it has sought action by Lao authorities “against unscrupulous elements and the matter has been raised at the highest levels”.
The embassy said it has so far rescued 924 Indian nationals from such scams, and 857 of them have returned to India.
“Indian youth who may have been promised a job in Thailand, but upon arrival there, are asked to travel by road to Chiang Rai close to the Thai-Lao border, are cautioned that this is a sure indication that they are being trafficked to GTSEZ in Lao PDR,” the embassy said.
“Once they arrive in GTSEZ, their passports may be taken away by criminal syndicates and they are made to sign a so-called ‘work contract’ in a foreign language which endangers them to exploitation,” it said.
The embassy has advised Indian nationals to go through the detailed advisory at its website or to contact the mission to avoid being duped.