Highlights
- The Indian nationals, mostly with a tech background were lured by the gangs with offers of high-paying IT jobs in Thailand.
- But after reaching Thailand they were illegally taken to neighbouring Myanmar where they were held captive and were being forced to commit cyber fraud.
- The Union External Affairs Ministry on Wednesday said that it has so far rescued 45 Indians from Myanmar who were trapped in fake job rackets.
A total of 13 people for Tamil Nadu, who were among the Indian nationals who were held hostage in Myanmar after they were duped under the pretext of jobs in Thailand, have reached home.
According to Gingee K S Masthan, the state minister for minorities welfare, refugees and evacuees, and non-resident Tamils welfare, the first batch of 13 arrived in Chennai on Wednesday from Delhi.
300 Indians held captive in Myanmar
Last month Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated that 300 Indians, including around 50 Tamils were being held captive in Myanmar.
The Indian nationals, mostly with a tech background were lured by the gangs with offers of high-paying IT jobs in Thailand.
But after reaching Thailand they were illegally taken to neighbouring Myanmar where they were held captive and were being forced to commit cyber fraud.
They were held in Myawaddy in south-eastern Myanmar, which is controlled by an ethnic armed group.
45 Indians rescued till now
The Union External Affairs Ministry on Wednesday said that it has so far rescued 45 Indians from Myanmar who were trapped in fake job rackets.
“We have been actively pursuing the case of Indians being trapped in fake job rackets in Myanmar. Thanks to the efforts of @IndiainMyanmar & @IndiainThailand, around 32 Indians had already been rescued. Another 13 Indian citizens have now been rescued, & reached Tamil Nadu today,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
Similar job scams reported in other countries
Giving more information, the official said, “Some more Indian citizens have been rescued from their fake employers and are in custody of Myanmar authorities for illegal entry into that country. Legal formalities have been initiated to get them repatriated at the earliest.”
Instances of similar job rackets have also come to light from Laos and Cambodia. Indian Embassies in Vientiane, Phnom Penh and Bangkok have been helping in repatriating people from there as the details of agents allegedly involved in this racket have been shared with the relevant authorities in various Indian states, Bagchi said.
MEA advisory on fake job rackets
On July 5, the Indian mission issued an advisory cautioning against unscrupulous elements offering jobs.
“The mission has observed in recent past that some lT 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.
