“ Criminal syndicates running huge “cyber fraud centers” in Myanmar resort to extreme brutality, including torturing and killing slave laborers, whose bodies are then dumped in rivers. Lured by promises of legal work from around the world, hundreds of thousands of people have been enslaved, forced to engage in online scams under threat of death. Source: Myanmar Now and Prachatai investigation, The Telegraph reports Details: According to the investigation, hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in fraud centers located mainly on Myanmar’s border with Thailand. Victims are lured with offers of legal work, such as in customer service, and then smuggled into the country. Having entered the territory of such complexes, people find themselves in slavery. Literally: “For years, reports have surfaced describing inhumane conditions inside the centers, from starvation to organ harvesting.” Details: Workers are forced to engage in cyber fraud around the clock, defrauding people around the world. A 2023 UN report said more than $37 billion was stolen by people from fraud centers in Southeast Asia. Those who do not fulfill the set “norm” of profit are severely punished.” As a former guard of one of these camps told, the leadership ordered people to be beaten, and refusal to obey the order meant a loss of trust and a risk to one’s own life. Attempts to escape are punished with particular cruelty. For the first attempt, a person is thrown into a dark room without food and water. The second attempt can end in killing on the spot. “The authorities brought dead bodies and exhibited them in front of buildings as a reminder. Everyone was forced to watch. This is what will happen if you run away,” said one of the witnesses. According to him, the bodies of those killed were often simply thrown into the Moei River. Local residents confirm that they have found the bodies of unknown people in the water. The organizers of these criminal enterprises are mainly Chinese gangs that operate in cooperation with local Myanmar armed groups that provide security and logistics in exchange for a share of the profits The victims are mostly people from Asian countries, but recently the number of people from Africa, South America and even Europe is increasing. Background: Myanmar has been in a state of civil war since February 2021, when the military led by Min Aung Hlaing staged a coup d’état, seizing power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since that time, according to estimates NGOs, the junta killed more than 7,300 people. The junta supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has openly offered Myanmar as a base for Russian business to access Asian markets to circumvent sanctions. What preceded: On October 14, Great Britain and the United States introduced sanctions against the Prince Group, one of the largest criminal networks behind these scams. Previously, mass media reported that Myanmar’s military regime carried out an airstrike on a school in the central region of the country where local residents had gathered for a Buddhist festival. Bombs dropped from a motorized paraglider killed at least 24 people, including children, and injured more than 50 others.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: investigations by Myanmar Now and Prachatai, reports The Telegraph
Details: According to the investigation, hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in fraudulent centers located mainly on the border of Myanmar with Thailand. Victims are lured with offers of legal work, such as in customer service, and then smuggled into the country. Having entered the territory of such complexes, people find themselves in slavery.
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Literally: “For years, reports have surfaced describing inhumane conditions inside the centers, from starvation to organ harvesting.”
Details: Workers are forced to engage in cyber fraud around the clock, defrauding people around the world. A 2023 UN report said more than $37 billion was stolen by people from fraud centers in Southeast Asia.
Those who do not meet the established “norm” of profit are severely punished.”
As a former guard of one of these camps told, the leadership ordered people to be beaten, and refusing to obey the order meant a loss of trust and a risk to one’s life.
Attempts to escape are punished with particular cruelty. For the first attempt, a person is thrown into a dark room without food and water. A second attempt can end in killing on the spot.
“The authorities brought dead bodies and displayed them in front of the buildings as a reminder. Everyone was forced to watch. This is what will happen if you run away,” said one of the witnesses.
According to him, the bodies of those killed were often simply thrown into the Moei River. Local residents confirm that they found the bodies of unknown people in the water.
The organizers of these criminal enterprises are mainly Chinese gangs that operate in cooperation with local armed groups in Myanmar, who provide security and logistics in exchange for a share of the profits. The victims are mostly people from Asian countries, but recently the number of people from Africa, South America and even Europe is increasing.
For reference: Myanmar has been in a state of civil war since February 2021, when the military led by Min Aung Hlaing staged a coup d’état, seizing power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, NGOs estimate that the junta has killed more than 7,300 people.
The junta supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has openly offered Myanmar as a base for Russian business to access Asian markets to circumvent sanctions.
What preceded:
- On October 14, Great Britain and the United States introduced sanctions against the Prince Group, one of the largest criminal networks behind these scams.
- Previously, the media reported that the military regime of Myanmar carried out an air attack on the school in the central region of the country, where local residents gathered for a Buddhist festival. Bombs dropped from a motorized paraglider killed at least 24 people, including children, and injured more than 50 others.