Four Kazakhstanis who fell victim to human trafficking in Myanmar were returned to Kazakhstan, as reported by the Uzbek news agency Dunyo. According to open sources, they were forced to work in fraudulent call centers, and a large amount of money was demanded for their return.
«As a result of concerted actions and negotiations with the competent authorities of Myanmar and Thailand, citizens of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have been freed and handed over to diplomats of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan at the Mae Sot (Thailand) border point, where they were provided with temporary accommodation and meals. On Apr. 11, through cooperation between the diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in Thailand, two Uzbek, four Kazakh and seven Kyrgyz citizens were successfully repatriated to their homelands,» the publication stated.
According to the agency, two citizens of Uzbekistan, born in 2000 and 1997, reached out to Uzbekistan’s Consulate General, claiming that they had fallen victim to human trafficking in Myanmar. They said that they had arrived in Thailand following a high-paying job offer on the internet and were provided with a free flight ticket from Uzbekistan. However, once in Thailand, they were illegally transported by deceit to Myanmar, where they ended up in the hands of criminal groups involved in human trafficking.
In Myanmar, they were forced to work for fraudulent call centers; any refusal to participate in criminal activities led to physical punishments and threats of violence. The fraudsters demanded a large ransom for their release and return home.
Dunyo added that eight Kyrgyz and four Kazakh citizens ended up in the same situation. Since Kyrgyzstan has no diplomatic mission in Thailand, the diplomats of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan cooperated in repatriating these citizens at the request of Kyrgyzstan. Kursiv.media reached out to Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry for a comment; however, there has been no response at the time of this publication.
On Apr. 1, another incident involving Thailand and citizens of Kazakhstan occurred: a motorboat exploded with Kazakh and Russian citizens on board. At the time, only one person was reported to have sustained injuries, while others were in the water during the accident.
