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Kathmandu, Dec 11: Forty-seven Nepalis who were lured to Myanmar and forced to work in illegal online scamming centres have returned home today.

The Nepali Embassy in Bangkok said they were rescued with the coordination and support of Thai authorities, and were flown back to Kathmandu on Nepal Airlines flight RA402.

They were forced to work in online dating fraud, online casinos, gaming and phishing scams, crypto fraud and similar activities. The rescued group includes 45 men and 2 women from 26 districts.

They come from Chitwan, Dailekh, Kaski, Kathmandu, Kavre, Palpa, Ramechhap, Rautahat, Salyan, Sarlahi, Sindhuli, Taplejung and Tehrathum districts, one from each district.
Two each are from Dang, Mahottari, Morang, Nawalparasi, Nuwakot, Syangja and Tanahun.
Three each are from Dhading, Gorkha, Rupandehi, Sindhupalchok and Udayapur.
Five are from Jhapa.

According to the embassy, these youths, aged between 17 and 41, had been trapped in the scamming centres for periods ranging from two months to 18 months.

The embassy said they had reached Myanmar after being contacted by different people, friends, online friends, gaming partners from PUBG and other online games, and through social media ads.
Some were taken there through friends they met while studying in India, Dubai or working abroad.

Through WhatsApp, Viber, Messenger, TikTok and Telegram, they received job offers claiming they could earn a high hourly wage in Kathmandu. After responding, they were approached again and then offered travel to countries marketed as attractive destinations, with promises of office jobs, call centre work, computer operator roles or receptionist jobs with salaries above one lakh rupees.

The embassy stated that after luring them, they were transported through various routes and handed over to the scamming centres.

Once inside these centres, workers were given comfortable tasks for a few months. Later they were assigned fixed targets and, if they failed to meet them, they were accused of different crimes, subjected to extreme financial and physical abuse, held hostage for ransom from families, threatened with jail or even killed.
Those who tried to escape were told they would not be released unless they brought in a replacement worker.

The Nepali Embassy in Thailand has rescued 68 people in fiscal year 2080/81, 156 people in 2081/82 and 141 people so far this fiscal year.

The embassy urged people not to rush abroad without proper information. It asked everyone to verify the authenticity of social media job offers and proposals made by friends, to check the legitimacy of employers and to go abroad only with official labour approval as required by the Government of Nepal.

It also requested everyone not to fall for temptations of quick and easy money and not to travel to countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand under the pretext of tourism with the intention of taking up unverified foreign jobs.

People’s News Monitoring Service