A desperate SOS message (including a social media tweet) from two trapped Indian brothers from Uttar Pradesh, detailing the confinement of over a hundred people, threats of electric shock, and fears for their safety, has driven the Embassy of India in Cambodia and ministry of external affairs (MEA) to rescue 81 Indians with the help of Cambodian authorities.
The brothers were desperate as they posted WhatsApp images about the electric shock and confirmed the suicide of a fellow victim who was thrown into the jungles. Their only hope was that someone would notice their tweet.
The Indian Embassy in Phnom Penh found the tweet and established contact with the victims. The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the ministry of home affairs in New Delhi is learnt to have coordinated the matter and provided technical assistance in locating the compound's location, using Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) in Bavet area of Cambodia.
The Indian Embassy immediately raised the matter with the highest levels of the Cambodian government, providing specific intelligence tip-offs to the relevant Cambodian law enforcement agencies. 2Twenty-eight Indian nationals have been rescued. However, as efforts were underway, the Cambodian Authorities and the Indian Embassy in Phnom Penh zeroed in on 53 more Indian nationals who are now being rescued in Bavet, bringing the total number to 81 in 2 days.
While the collaborative rescue missions are ongoing and highly effective, authorities believe a significant number of youngsters are still working in scam compounds across Cambodia and the wider Southeast Asian region.
It is a long journey home as challenges persist, particularly the risk of victims who suffered trauma, the residual threats posed by the recruitment agents still operating in the shadows and even the rehabilitation of the victims.
However, the efforts of Indian Embassy officials, who are coordinating with Cambodian Immigration to verify identities, issue emergency travel documents (ETDs), and fast-track their deportation and repatriation orders, have brought hope of helping hundreds of Indian nationals return safely. They will return in batches, said sources, as their documents get verified to establish their identity and nationality. The Centre and the state governments often provide logistical assistance and flight arrangements to ensure their safe journey from the scam compounds in Phnom Penh back to their respective hometowns in India.
Based on various crackdowns across India, it has been learnt that the wide network of cyber fraudsters operating in these regions, where investment frauds and digital arrests continue to top the charts of cyber crimes targeting hapless individuals, is a matter of concern. Taking action against forced labour and human trafficking is a priority, said government officials, as the Indian embassy in Cambodia is actively working to dismantle the scam compounds located in a building in Bavet Kandal Village. Officials said the efforts are being expedited through crucial intelligence sharing and persistent diplomatic efforts from New Delhi, which is taking the lead in the fight against regional cyber slavery and investment fraud.
The Bavet compound is just one point on a sprawling map of exploitation, which is largely centred around laxly regulated border zones in Southeast Asia, where Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia converge, a region now infamously referred to as the “Golden triangle of digital fraud.”