Myanmar, a nation once renowned for its vibrant culture, stunning landscapes, and distinctive festivals, has been devastated by conflicts involving the military junta, rebel groups, and terrorist organizations such as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). Since the coup in 2021, the country has descended into chaos, allowing various criminal elements to take advantage of the unstable situation.
Safety has transformed into a rare and precious asset as pervasive violence has rendered everyone vulnerable, including actors, tourists and minority groups, in the country. The authorities are unable to provide any assistance as law and order has become subservient to the struggling entities. The foremost aim is to maintain control over the country by any means, even as it spirals into ruin. An alleged work assignment recently transmogrified into a chilling story reminiscent of a crime film for a Chinese national, due to the precarious conditions.
An actor known as Wang Xing, or by his stage name Xing Xing, recently went missing during a trip to Thailand, close to the Myanmar border. Concerns arose that he might have inadvertently crossed into Myawaddy, globally infamous for online scams. On 3rd January, he reportedly arrived in Bangkok and lost communication with his friends and family at approximately 11 am that same day while in the Mae Sot region of northwestern Thailand, which shares a border with Myawaddy which is also the fourth largest city of Myanmar.
He had a flight scheduled to depart from Thailand, one week following the commencement of his ordeal. “According to the Thai authorities, Chinese citizen Wang has been successfully rescued at 7 pm local time on (7th January). The Chinese embassy and consulates in Thailand express gratitude to Thailand’s government and other relevant parties for their efforts and effective work in this regard,” China’s embassy stated.
An extensive plot of human trafficking and a massive twist
According to reports, before his journey to Thailand, Wang was approached with an invitation to star in a film on WeChat by a person who masqueraded as the associate director of the production, as informed by his girlfriend, Kang. He claimed to be a representative of a prominent Thai entertainment firm. The actor was then guided through the country’s immigration by someone alleging to be part of the production crew and transported to Mae Sot, which is roughly 500 kilometres (310 miles) from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
After losing contact with him, she sought assistance from the Chinese embassy in Bangkok and the consulate in Chiang Mai. Kang shared that she and his brother endeavoured to trace his whereabouts, but their attempts were not fruitful, on Weibo. Additionally, she reported Wang as missing to the police in Bangkok. Fortunately, he was eventually located, however, after a traumatizing experience that could even undermine some of the movie scripts he encountered in his professional life. He was a victim of human trafficking and the police also confirmed the same after an initial inquiry.
They mentioned that Wang recounted that he became aware of his abduction after traversing a river into Myanmar, where he observed the primitive living conditions. He informed the Thai police that a group of armed persons had transported him to a scam centre, where he discovered at least 50 others who were similarly trapped. The actor conveyed that he realized he was not in Thailand when “armed individuals directed me to enter the vehicle.”
“There were about 50 people in the building that I was in. There were more in another building, and people came from different countries,” he said, adding that he was forced to practice typing for two to three days under high pressure. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat and I didn’t even have the time to pee,” he unveiled. The authorities stated that they swiftly identified him following a request for assistance from the Chinese side.
They noted that the probe proceeded without complications, as the vehicle transporting him travelled directly to the border, thereby simplifying the route. They added, “But other cases might be more complex, as they might involve changing vehicles, drivers, and direction, making it difficult to trace.” Wang later informed journalists that he had been engaged in a filming project in Thailand in 2018 and did not perceive any unusual circumstances. However, he was taken by car to Myanmar, where his head was shaved, and he was compelled to participate in training focused on executing phone scams.
The specifics of his whereabouts unfolded like an unexpected turn of events. Interestingly, he was discovered in Shwe Kokko, a town notorious for Chinese-run call-centre scams and disclosed to the police that he was abducted by a Chinese criminal outfit. He was lured in the name of a casting call in Thailand and afterwards trained by the gang to defraud their fellow countrymen.
A report from the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV in 2023 indicated that authorities estimated the involvement of as many as 100,000 individuals in telecom fraud in Myawaddy alone. Notably, this incident appears to be part of a broader trend, as it has led to a significant number of posts regarding similar occurrences on Chinese social media. Many netizens have asserted that their friends and family members have also vanished near the Myanmar border after being deceived into travelling to Thailand.
One of the individuals believed to be missing is Chinese model Yang Zeqi, who entered Thailand on 20th December after responding to a casting call for actors circulated in a group chat. A Weibo user named Mu, who identified as his cousin, reported that he disappeared the next day close to the Myanmar border. On 29th December, he conducted a video call with his mother, during which he exhibited signs of ill health and had prominent scars around his eyes. The conversation lasted only six minutes and there has been no contact since that time.
More Chinese targeted by Myanmar’s human traffickers
Criminal enterprises have thrived in the border regions of Myanmar, which has been under military rule, where armed ethnic factions have engaged in conflict with the military for many years. Chinese officials have declared that they have taken measures against criminal organizations through collaborative efforts with neighbouring nations, resulting in the repatriation of thousands to the communist nation.
However, these initiatives have not led to the apprehension of the key figures behind these operations in Myanmar. Chinese investors are involved in the management of casino complexes situated in what are effectively self-governing development zones, in partnership with the Border Guard Force of Myanmar, a militia associated with the ethnic Karen community. More importantly, remaining consistent in their duplicity and skill for capitalizing on the misfortunes of others, the Chinese are also involved in such operations while purportedly attempting to address these crimes.
Notwithstanding the assertions made by the authorities in China, the circumstances appear to be beyond their control, as an increasing number of Chinese tourists have fallen victim to human traffickers in Myanmar. These incidents have occurred in rapid succession exemplifying, “The administration work hard but the Chinese-Myanmarese criminals work harder.” On 10th January, members of the Naresuan Force prevented a potential kidnapping of two Chinese tourists at the Thailand-Myanmar border in the Phop Phra district of Tak.
27-year-old Wu Chanqing and 36-year-old Zhu Chao were observed by officers from the 421st Ratchamanu Task Force during their patrol in the early hours of the morning. They told the authorities that they were awaiting a person who was supposed to transport them to Chiang Mai but failed to arrive. With suspicions of human trafficking, officials escorted the two to the Mae Sot police station to report their situation.
They informed that they had landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport, a day earlier and paid a transport agency 2,000 baht for transportation to Chiang Mai. A Thai man collected them in an SUV and afterwards left them in Tak province, directing them to wait for another individual. This week, Tak province reported its second case of human trafficking, following the incident involving Wang.
Meanwhile, multiple Chinese travellers intending to visit Thailand for the upcoming Lunar New Year have taken to social media to voice their concerns and pose direct inquiries. Some people are even considering canceling their planned trips to the country due to fear and honestly, one cannot reasonably assign blame to them.
Myanmarese criminals kidnap Indians
Similar to the Chinese, Indians have also become targets of criminal organizations that have progressively intensified their illicit activities. Many Indians, seduced by the promise of lucrative employment in Thailand, have been trafficked to a cybercrime syndicate in Myanmar, from which they were rescued by the Indian government. Last July, eight Indian nationals, who were engaged in work at a scam centre in Hpa Lu of Myawaddy, were saved and handed over to the relevant Myanmar police and immigration authorities.
Vidhan Gautam, a young man who fell victim to the bogus scheme, recalled his horrifying tale. He and five other diploma holders in computer operations were approached by an agent in May who promised them a job in Thailand. However, once they arrived in Thailand, they were coerced into illegally crossing the Moie River, a natural border between the two countries. “We were given rather sold to a group of people operating a cybercrime cartel in Myawaddy. We were beaten badly and compelled to engage in cyber-crimes. We were given targets daily. In our compound alone, some 70-odd teams worked day and night as cyber slaves. Besides Indians, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani youngsters were also forced to commit cybercrimes,” he narrated.
They were able to procure a mobile phone, which allowed them to connect with Indian authorities. The Indian embassy’s intervention prompted the Thai authorities to reach out to the Myanmar Army. “Eight of us were fined $1500 by the Myanmar Army and jailed for a short duration. We were then deported to Thailand where again we were sent to jail for a month. He also mentioned that the cybercrime group communicated with his family, insisting on a ransom for his release. “My family paid $2000 and other families too paid up to $5000,” he added.
The embassy stated, “In the last two days, 19 Indian nationals were rescued from scam compounds in Myawaddy, of which 11 victims were in Shwe Kokko and eight in Hpa Lu. Due to the ongoing armed conflict in the area, further complicated by crime syndicates, we strongly advise all to guard against their job offers.” According to a statement released by the Embassy of India in Myanmar, these individuals had been exploited by an international crime syndicate operating within the Myawaddy region, which lies on the Myanmar-Thailand border. It also reiterated its caution against deceptive job offers that target Indian youth through social media and other dubious sources.
This development occurred nearly a week after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addressed the matter with his Myanmar counterpart. He emphasized his strong advocacy for the prompt repatriation of Indians unlawfully held by cyber scam syndicates, restating India’s commitment to the restoration of democracy in Myanmar. Two youths from the Malappuram district in Kerala, who had gone to Thailand for job opportunities, were kidnapped and taken to Myanmar. The news came to light in June 2024.
They were reportedly being forced by an armed group to commit online fraud. Their families complained to the Ministry of External Affairs, seeking intervention for their release. According to family members, Shuhaib and Safir, who hail from Vallikappatta in Malappuram, were held captive in Myanmar, where they were coerced by an online syndicate to infiltrate bank accounts worldwide.
They travelled to Dubai on a visitor visa on 27th March. Subsequently, they learned of a job opportunity at a company in Thailand submitted their applications and participated in an online interview. Both candidates were successful and received flight tickets to the country. They departed from Abu Dhabi and arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand on 22nd May. According to relatives, upon their arrival at the airport, an agent escorted them to an undisclosed location controlled by a criminal organization. The pair managed to contact their families when possible, relaying their predicament.
They conveyed that they were being compelled to work as hackers and were trapped in an unknown place. Additionally, they noted that many others, including Malayalis, had also fallen into this trap and were involved in illicit activities against their wishes. The armed groups made certain that the hostages were isolated from the external world.
Similarly, Zia Panjatan from Dariyabad and Mohammad Arif of Barabanki met the same fate. Their plight was reported in July of last year. After losing their jobs in Dubai, they were drawn to Bangkok, by an alleged job offer from a “Chinese firm.” However, they were kidnapped and brought to an unknown site, suspected to be in Myanmar, where they were kept as hostages for around two weeks, with a ransom of at least Rs 20 lakh demanded. Three other Indians were also caught in this situation alongside the two.
The company had organized their flight tickets to Bangkok and offered a salary of around 1,200 dollars per month. Their family expressed, “Yes, they’ll give the passport and everything, will drop at the airport. Those who pay, they let go. Those who don’t, they beat them up.” If these instances already sent shockwaves, the next one will have an even more profound impact.
A group operating in Myawaddy, pressured over 300 Indians, including at least 60 from Tamil Nadu, into participating in cybercrime activities, reported The Times of India 2022. These individuals were held captive in a region beyond the jurisdiction of the Myanmar government, primarily controlled by ethnic armed factions. Moreover, hostages from various other nations were present among those detained. Some of the victims managed to communicate with their families in India, reporting that their captors were Malaysian Chinese. Some people from Tamil Nadu released a SOS video plea for assistance from the state and union governments.
They revealed that their employers compelled them to work more than 15 hours daily. They further stated that when they refused to take part in unlawful activities, they faced physical violence and electric shocks. Notably, on 5th July, the Indian embassy in Yangon, Myanmar, released a warning regarding “unscrupulous individuals offering employment opportunities.” A fisherman named Raja Subramanian, from Karaikalmedu, reached out to the district collector of Karaikal in the Union Territory of Puducherry, asking for help in rescuing his son, who was one of the hostages.
His elder son, Sudhakar, shared the details of his brother’s situation, noting that he was working as a data entry operator in Dubai. “Earlier this year, his manager said he was given a promotion and asked him to move to their Thailand office. From Thailand, he and several others were taken illegally by road to Myanmar. My brother said a few days ago his employers thrashed his colleague for refusing to do the illegal work. He sustained severe injuries on the head that required five sutures. His ears were torn.” A source stated, “So far, we have rescued over 30 Indians. Efforts are on to get back the rest of the people through contacts in the business community.”
Beatings, torture and ransom
Dreaming of a better existence for himself and his recent bride, Sri Lankan Ravi went to Thailand. However, he soon found himself ensnared in the jungles of Myanmar, enduring torture for his refusal to assist in deceiving affluent, solitary men through bogus romance schemes. “They stripped off my clothes, made me sit on a chair and gave my leg electric shocks. I thought it was the end of my life. I spent 16 days in a cell for not obeying them. They only gave me water mixed with cigarette butts and ash to drink,” he stated, per a BBC report. However, the brutality had only begun.
Around the fifth or sixth day, two females were brought into the vicinity and were gang raped while he was forced to witness the act. “When I witnessed it, I feared, ‘What will these people do to me?’ It was then that I doubted they would let me live,” he expressed. The Sri Lankan government reported that at least 56 of its citizens are trapped across four different sites in Myanmar. Nevertheless, Janaka Bandara, the Sri Lankan ambassador to Myanmar, conveyed to the BBC that eight of these individuals were recently rescued with the aid of the Myanmar authorities.
As an aspiring migrant, Ravi was enticed by the prospect of a data entry job that promised a basic salary of Rs 370,000 ($1,200). The computer specialist was quick to accept this opportunity and took out a loan of 250,000 rupees ($815) to pay the recruiter. He was swiftly directed to Mae Sot, a city situated in western Thailand, upon his arrival in Bangkok in early 2023. He mentioned, “We were taken to a hotel, but soon handed over to two gunmen. They took us to Myanmar crossing a river.”
The group reached Myawaddy and then were taken to a camp overseen by Chinese-speaking gangmasters, which was fortified with tall walls and barbed wire, and secured by armed guards who monitored the entrance relentlessly. He added, “We were terrified. About 40 young men and women, including Sri Lankans, individuals from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and African countries, were forcibly detained in the camp.”
According to Ravi, they were pushed to work as many as 22 hours each day, with only one day off per month. They were also told to pursue affluent men, especially from Western countries, by establishing romantic relationships through stolen phone numbers, social media and messaging platforms. Through the exchange of hundreds of messages within a matter of days, the scammers managed to earn the trust of these men, persuading them to invest considerable amounts of money in spurious online trading platforms.
The fake applications then exhibit false information regarding investments and profits. “If a person transfers $100,000, we return $50,000 to them, saying it is their profit. This gives the impression that they now have $150,000, but in reality, they only get back half of their initial $100,000, leaving the other half to us,” he informed. Once they extracted all they could from their victims, the messaging accounts and social media profiles vanished without a trace. Those who resisted, like Ravi, suffered severe beatings and torture.
“I told them that I couldn’t scam these people. Even though I had no money, I didn’t feel like stealing someone else’s hard-earned money. The thought alone caused me great mental anguish,” he voiced. Ultimately, the “Chinese boss” approached Ravi and presented him with “one final opportunity” to rejoin the team, recognizing his proficiency in computer software. He stated, “I had no choice, half my body was paralysed by then.”
Over four additional months, he continued to manage Facebook accounts that were established through the use of a VPN, artificial intelligence applications, and 3D video cameras. During this period, he earnestly requested permission to travel to Sri Lanka to visit his ailing mother. The gang leader agreed to his request, stipulating that Ravi must pay a ransom of Rs 600,000 ($2,000) and an extra Rs 200,000 ($650) for the river crossing into Thailand.
In a bid to assist him, his parents borrowed funds by leveraging their home as collateral and sent the money to him, resulting in his return to Mae Sot. Moreover, upon his arrival at the airport, he was fined 20,000 Thai baht ($550) for not having a visa, which forced his parents to take out another loan. “When I arrived in Sri Lanka, I had a debt of Rs 1,850,000 ($6,100).”
However, there were avenues for escape: one could opt to pay. Neel Vijay from Maharashtra was trafficked to Myanmar in August 2022 alongside five other Indian men and two Filipino women. “There were several companies run by Chinese-speaking people. All of them were scammers. We were sold to those companies. When we reached that place, I lost hope. If my mother hadn’t given them the ransom money, I would have been tortured like others.” A childhood acquaintance of his mother had lured him with the promise of a call centre position in Bangkok, charging them an agent’s fee of INR 150,000 (approximately $1,800).
He transferred INR 600,000 ($7,190) to the gang to secure his release after he chose to participate in the scam, yet this was preceded by his observation of the violent punishments administered to those who either fell short of the targets or were incapable of affording the ransom.
Rape, drugs and forced prostitution
When she arrived in Myanmar’s northern Shan state, a 19-year-old Vietnamese young woman expected to begin a new job, but soon realized she had been trafficked. Confined to a locked room, she could hear others nearby but was unable to see them. Armed men were stationed to guard the premises. In 2019, a man, a friend of a friend, reached out to her through Facebook, proposing a job opportunity in Myanmar. Following numerous meetings to discuss the lucrative offer of a well-paying waitressing position, she decided to accept and subsequently flew to the country with him.
She was permitted to engage with other women, some of whom shared her Vietnamese heritage, within the confines of the house, reported Al Jazeera. However, all of them were compelled to consume crystal meth, as their captors asserted that the substance enhanced both endurance and sexual desire in women. Despite her desire to flee, she quickly recognized the perilous nature of such an attempt, understanding that it could ultimately lead to her demise.
“I cannot believe I was in that situation. Even in my worst nightmares, I never thought my life would become like that,” she conveyed. Eventually, with the assistance of the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, a non-governmental organization located in Hanoi that focuses on rescuing human trafficking victims, a woman she had befriended successfully escaped. Ultimately, it was Blue Dragon that formulated a strategy to liberate the latter, who had been permitted to use a mobile phone.
Blue Dragon’s efforts led to the rescue of 274 Vietnamese trafficking victims from China, a figure that declined to 110 in 2022. Furthermore, in that same year, the organization rescued 62 individuals from Cambodia and 44 from Myanmar, marking a substantial rise from 2018, when no rescues were conducted in these countries.
A further victim of sex trafficking in Myanmar reported being coerced into prostitution, subjected to atrocious treatment and compelled to consume crystal meth. She lived under a continuous threat of violence and witnessed several shootings in her surroundings. She mentioned that some of the guards at the brothel were Vietnamese nationals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she faced significant financial challenges, was trafficked to Myanmar in the latter half of 2021, and managed to return to her country with the support of Blue Dragon in September 2022.
She stated that one day a woman tried to escape, only to be captured by her captors, who then stripped her naked outside the house, withheld food from her, and “chained her like a dog for public display.”
Gangland of Myanmar
An earlier report from OpIndia already pointed out the difficulties encountered by minorities, especially Hindus in Myanmar, who are being targeted by the military junta, various armed organizations, and Islamists. The prevailing situation in the country, unfortunately, does not inspire optimism for any potential improvement or stability. The challenge lies in the fact that Myanmar accommodates a range of ethnic insurgencies and criminal factions, and the chaotic circumstances have prompted the emergence of several transnational and international gangs.
According to Jeremy Douglas from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, ethnic-Chinese gangs often collaborate with local criminal organizations to engage in various scams. Initially, these criminals focused their investments on casinos, which serve as prime locations for money laundering activities. However, following a crackdown by Chinese authorities on illegal domestic gambling approximately ten years ago, these syndicates relocated their operations to the south.
They discovered a more accommodating environment in the unregulated eastern regions of Myanmar and numerous special economic zones throughout Indo-China, where local officials appear to operate under the assumption that they lack jurisdiction. Laos and Myanmar, in particular, serve as welcoming destinations for them.
The 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report issued by the US (United States) State Department recognized Myanmar as a favoured region for the activities of criminal gangs. As of August 2023, the United Nations estimated that more than 120,000 individuals, primarily men from Asia, have been compelled to work in scam centres in Myanmar, akin to the predicament faced by Ravi. These centres are continuously supplied by a flow of aspiring migrant workers from around the globe.
Patterns of human trafficking have been changing, in part due to the significant fence that China has built along its southern frontier with Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. “The border fence makes crossing between countries much more difficult for traffickers. Previously, they would take their victims across mountain trails and rivers into China undetected. Now that they can’t do so, the traffickers have opened up new destinations to take their victims to. We’ve seen a growth in trafficking to northern Myanmar, Cambodia and, to some extent, Laos,” Michael Brosowski, the founder of Blue Dragon informed.
He added, “Reports from the hundreds of people we have spoken to indicate that the criminals running the brothels in Myanmar and the online scams in Cambodia are Chinese gangsters, operating out of reach of their government who would never allow them to commit these crimes at home.” Richard Horsey, a senior adviser on Myanmar at Crisis Group stated, “The coup in Myanmar has weakened the military’s control of parts of the country, especially the periphery, and boosted the prospects of transnational criminal organisations operating there.”
As stated in the 2022 US Trafficking in Persons Report on Myanmar, the efforts to address trafficking saw a considerable reduction after the coup, with the military regime prioritizing the persecution of pro-democracy activists over other justice sector worries. It referred to ethnic armed organisations and the People’s Republic of China and highlighted, “Absent oversight and enforcement measures in non-government-controlled areas, often in border zones, women and girls from these border regions and elsewhere in Southeast Asia may be vulnerable to sex trafficking in casinos and Special Economic Zones owned or operated by EAOs and PRC and Thai companies.”
Over the last several years, a significant number of Asians have been drawn to Myanmar by promises of employment and other prospects, only to be deceived, exploited, and mistreated by criminal groups. “The situation in Myanmar’s troubled regions remains volatile, and the lack of central authority has exacerbated the security challenges,” Indian Ambassador to Thailand, Nagesh Singh stated, last year.
