MYANMAR: In a international operation, a local military force in Myanmar has conducted a major crackdown on notorious online fraud centers, leading to the liberation of hundreds of foreign nationals trapped in cyber-slavery. Among those rescued were 38 Pakistani citizens, according to official reports.
The operation concluded with the Thai army intercepting and safely receiving the freed individuals, including the Pakistanis, as they crossed the Myanmar-Thailand border. All were subsequently transferred to the Bangkok Immigration Center. Thai authorities confirmed that the rescued Pakistanis will be deported to their homeland in phases and have formally communicated this process to the Government of Pakistan through an official letter.
The crisis appears far from over. The Thai government disclosed that an additional 60 Pakistanis remain in shelters within Myanmar after escaping similar fraudulent operations. This revelation underscores the scale of the criminal networks targeting vulnerable job-seekers from Pakistan and other countries.
In a stern follow-up to the rescues, Thai officials have made specific demands of Pakistan. They have urged relevant Pakistani institutions to interrogate the deported individuals upon their return to identify and prosecute the illegal agents and traffickers who lured them abroad. Furthermore, Thailand has recommended that the names of all deported Pakistanis be placed on Pakistan’s Exit Control List (ECL) for a period of five years to prevent them from being trafficked again.
The incident has cast a harsh light on what officials describe as a pervasive threat. Officials from Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have identified Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia as major hubs for such organized cyber-fraud. These criminal syndicates, they explain, advertise lucrative online jobs, particularly in call centers, to entice young people. Victims are often trafficked on work visas only to be imprisoned upon arrival, forced to participate in online scams under threat of violence.
FIA authorities have issued a strong public warning, advising Pakistani citizens to exercise extreme caution and to thoroughly verify any offers for work visas and online employment in these regions to avoid falling into a devastating trap.
