More Sri Lankans fall victim to Myanmar human trafficking racket?
February 23, 2024 06:14 pm
The human trafficking racket in Myanmar goes on unabated as more Sri Lankans continue to be brought in for cyber slavery, according to a harrowing statement given by a youth who had fallen victim to the Burmese terror group.
The young man revealed that another Sri Lankan national was recently moved to the cyber slavery camp where he is being forcibly held, and as many as 15 other Sri Lankans including two females were also slated to be brought there.
He said the Sri Lankan embassy in Myanmar, the foreign ministry, the immigration authorities, the president and all respective authorities have been informed about their situation, urging them to take necessary action without delay.
In December 2023, media reports shed light on the plight of a group of about 50-60 Sri Lankans, who were lured with tourist visas behind the false front of lucrative IT sector job offers and are being held captive in Myanmar by a notorious ethnic armed group.
They too had been duped into applying to job vacancies in Dubai by a certain agent in the UAE only to be trafficked into Myanmar to work in terror camps in Myaweddi area where they are forced to commit internet scams.
Earlier, the Sri Lankans who fell victim to this human trafficking scam said that they were initially unaware of the cybercrime camp. Despite initially being told that they were supposed to do jobs such as data entry, these Sri Lankans had been forced to appear as romantic partners to foreigners, especially Europeans and Americans, in order to steal their money.
In the event they refuse to do as told, the captives are subjected to acts of torture, which they said include electrocution, waterboarding in cages, hanging them by their hands and starving.
It was also revealed that these workers had travelled to Myanmar without registering with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE). Reportedly, Sri Lankan youths have been experiencing this plight since 2022.
