PUBLISHED : 2 Mar 2025 at 19:06
Authorities are rushing to identify which of the 119 Thai nationals released from scam call centres in Cambodia and deported back to Thailand on Saturday were actual victims of human trafficking and who went there voluntarily.
Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiewphan, chief of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), said on Sunday authorities are acting in accordance with the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), a standard practice used for handling people suspected to be victims of human trafficking and forced labour.
That is despite suggestions by the Cambodian authorities that they all arrived voluntarily with the intention to work in illicit activities. They refer to them as criminal suspects.
Pol Lt Gen Trairong said the victim-offender separation process is being jointly conducted by Sa Kaeo provincial police, Provincial Police Region 2 police, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD), the Immigration Bureau and the CCIB.
Preliminary information obtained from the police’s crime database system and a related online criminal record system called “Thaipolice online” showed at least seven out of these 119 people have had arrest warrants arising in 11 cases, involving drugs and fraud among other misdemeanours, he said.
Ten of the 119 people, including the first seven, have also been named suspects in 46 cases filed with the police.
“If they are proven criminals, they will face charges of fraud, involvement in a transnational crime syndicate and money laundering, Pol Lt Gen Trairong said.
“As such, their assets will be traced, seized and sold at auction for money, which will later be returned to their victims.”
There were also 121 mobile phones seized from the group for inspection, which will help provide information useful for separating victims from offenders, he added.
Cambodian media had reported previously that it was highly unusual that 119 “imprisoned” Thais would have fled from Cambodian authorities during the crackdown instead of seeking help from the officials.
All were found to have mobile phones with them. Normally, human trafficking victims forced to work in scam gangs aren’t allowed to use a personal phone, said the reports, pointing to the likelihood the Thais knew what they were doing.
The Thai nationals, 61 men and 58 women, were among 230 foreigners reportedly freed from a scam call centre in Poipet following a three-month investigation into the Chinese-run operations in Cambodia.