According to the State Department, many Indians, including Tamils, have been trafficked to Myanmar through fake employment scams, and many Indians have also been trafficked to Cambodia and Laos. 14 Indians have been rescued from Cambodia after many complaints have been received recently.
The State Department has reiterated not to be fooled by fake job offers as people-trafficking gangs try to smuggle Indians through illegal activities. Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagshi said that the details of those acting as brokers of such human trafficking gangs have been shared with the concerned state governments. State governments are expected to take action against agents involved in such cheating.
As 13 persons from Tamil Nadu were rescued from Myanmar and returned to Chennai, the State Department has advised job seekers abroad to be wary of Cambodia and Laos. The brokers are believed to have played a key role in sending many people who were taken to Dubai for well-paying IT jobs to Thailand. Those trapped have complained that they were illegally crossed rivers from Thailand and smuggled into Myanmar without any documents.
Many Indians, including Tamils, have been forced to engage in various internet scams like Bitcoin fraud, cyber fraud, etc., while staying in camps in a remote area of Myanmar called Myawadi. They have complained that they were held at gunpoint in camps and tortured with threats and punishment if they did not perform the fraud.
New Generation continued to publish news related to those trapped in Myanmar and brought the issue to the attention of the central and state governments. In this case, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to rescue the trapped people.
Telangana Governor and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan requested Minister of State for External Affairs Muralitharan to rescue the trapped people. Muralitharan immediately contacted the Indian Ambassador to Myanmar Vinya Kumar over the phone.
The Indian embassies in Thailand and Myanmar acted quickly and contacted the Myanmar government and engaged in rescue operations. Attempts were also made to rescue those trapped in the camps through private means. After continuous efforts, 32 Indians were rescued and brought to Thailand in the first phase. Then they were brought home from there. Similarly, 13 persons from Tamil Nadu were flown from Bangkok to Delhi and later sent to Chennai.
Arindam Pakshi thanked the Indian embassies in Yangon and Bangkok for taking steps to rescue the stranded Indians. Indian embassies in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand are taking steps to rescue other stranded Indians. More than a hundred Indians are trapped in Myawadi area alone and there are allegations that Chinese mafia gangs are using them for digital scams.
– Ganapathi Subramaniam