Myanmar gang holds over 300 Indians held hostage and forces them into cybercrime.
Over 300 Indians have been trapped in Myanmar or we can say Over 300 Indians held Hostage in the Myanmar Myawaddy area after falling prey to an international racket promising jobs in Thailand. Of the 300 trapped people, 60 are from Tamil Nadu. They have been held captive by a gang that is now forcing them to do cybercrime activities. Myawaddy area in southeastern Myanmar’s Kayin state bordering Thailand is not fully under the control of the Myanmarese government and certain ethnic armed groups hold sway over it.
Some of the hostages who sent out messages to their families called their captors ‘ Malaysian Chinese ‘. People familiar with the matter said that the Indian nationals were duped by the international gang that offered them jobs in Thailand, but instead, were taken illegally to Myanmar. The matter came to light after some Tamil men sent out an SOS video on Saturday, requesting the Union and Tamil Nadu governments to rescue them. Throughout the SOS video, the men said that they are being forced to work for more than 15 hours a day.
If they refused to listen to their employers, they are being thrashed and even given an electric shock. The Indian embassy in Hong has been working closely with the Government of Myanmar for their rescue. ” There are other efforts for rescuing these Indian citizens through various contacts among the business community, given that the area is not fully under the control of the Myanmar government “. ” So far, the embassy has rescued more than 30 Indian citizens trapped in the Myawaddy area, and is continuing all efforts to get the others out as early as possible,” he added.
On July 5, the Indian mission issued an advisory cautioning against unscrupulous elements offering jobs. ” The mission has observed in recent past that some IT companies engaged in digital scamming/forge crypto activities located in remote eastern border areas of Myanmar Are recruiting Indian workers from different places through their recruiting agents on the pretext of potential employment opportunities in the It sector,” it said. After initial recruitment, the mission said Indian workers are taken to Myanmar illegally without proper documentation leading to their ” entrapment “.
” given the above, Indian nationals are hereby requested to exercise due caution and verify the antecedents of the recruiting agents. it is advisable to have all requisite information before accepting any employment that has been offered,” it added.
