Group of Sri Lankans held hostage by Myanmar terror group, forced to commit internet scams
December 21, 2023 11:56 pm
A group of dozens of Sri Lankans, who were lured with tourist visas behind the false front of lucrative job offers in the IT sector, are reportedly being held captive in Myanmar by a notorious terror group.
Accordingly, Sri Lanka’s intelligence officers held discussions on Thursday (Dec.21) on held a comprehensive discussion with the representatives of the Embassy of Thailand in Colombo and the parents of five Sri Lankans who have fallen victim to the scam.
It was revealed that a Sri Lankan in Dubai, who had connected with the victims online, had directed them to work in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, the Human Trafficking, Smuggling and Maritime Crimes Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has initiated probes to arrest a Sri Lankan who was allegedly in contact with the said Burmese terror group.
The group of about 50-60 Sri Lankans had illegally entered Myanmar through its border with Thailand.
As per reports, they are forcibly detained in a terrorist camp in Myaweddi city, which is currently under the grip of the ethnic armed group and considered as an area infested with cybercrimes.
The Sri Lankans detained at the terrorist camp in Myaweddi are reported to be working as cyber slaves forced to commit internet scams.
Before the incident was brought to light, there were reports on how several Indian nationals were subjected to similar conditions by the same Burmese terrorist group.
Recently, a series of photographs were released, showing how the Sri Lankans were tortured at the Myaweddi terror camp.
The Sri Lankans who have fallen victim to this scam have 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 have 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 they are told, the captives are subjected to acts of torture, which they said include electrocution, waterboarding in cages, hanging them by their hands and starving.
