Luring people to Cambodia with the trap of 'easy work, high salary'

In mid-June, after being rescued and returned to the country, Nguyen Van Chien (19 years old, in Quang Tien ward, Sam Son city) went to the Investigation Security Agency of Thanh Hoa Provincial Police to report his actions.human traffickingof Tran Ngoc Chung (19 years old, in Trung Thinh quarter, Quang Tien ward, Sam Son city).

Chien said he had known Chung for 7 years. Around February, through social media, Chung said he was working in Cambodia, an easy job that only required typing on a computer, but the salary was high (about 500-1,000 USD per month). Chung promised that all expenses and travel procedures "would be taken care of". At the time he had no stable job, and they were close friends from the same hometown, Chien accepted.

Around the beginning of March, Chung called to say "someone will pick you up" and told Chien to wait at an Internet cafe. There, Chien met three other people in Sam Son City who were also waiting to be taken to Cambodia to work according to Chung's arrangement. At around 2 a.m., the four people were picked up by a taxi driver and taken to the street to catch a bus to Ho Chi Minh City.

There, someone was waiting to pick them up and take them to Long An. When they reached the mountainous area, they traveled by motorbike, waiting to cross the border. As it got dark, they were led through the forest by an unknown man to Cambodia. They arrived at around 4am.

Victim Nguyen Van Chien was rescued and returned to Vietnam after nearly 2 months of being sold to a casino in Cambodia. Photo:Le Hoang

After that, Chung returned to Vietnam without saying goodbye. Every day, Chien was tasked with sitting at the computer to attract customers to online card games that paid rewards, increasing interactions on social networks... Chien worked on the second floor of a high-rise building. There were about 300 employees here, most of whom were Vietnamese.

Chien said that after more than a month of working, he witnessed many employees being brutally beaten. "Bleeding noses, electric batons being shocked into people, and painful screams happened frequently..."

On the second floor, there was a room called the "dark room" - a place reserved for punishing employees who intended to escape, refused to work or argued with the boss. Every time he went to the toilet through this room, he heard painful groans.

"There were no easy jobs with high salaries as promised, but we were constantly threatened and forced to do illegal work," Chien said.

Every day, he had to work 13-15 hours, and if he didn't meet his quota or resisted, he would be punished. In the lightest cases, he would be forced to kneel for hours, in the worst cases, he would be locked in a "dark room" and electrocuted. Anyone who wanted to quit had to pay a ransom of 120-150 million VND, and if he escaped or reported to the police, he would face retaliation.

According to Chien, after working for more than a month, an employee died in the company. The police came to search and investigate. "Seeing the presence of local authorities, we shouted for help...", Chien said.

On April 29, Chien and many others were taken back to Vietnam through the Ha Tien international border gate.

"We were lucky to be discovered and rescued in time, otherwise if we were there now, we don't know whether we would have lived or died," he said.

At the end of June, Chung was prosecuted and detained by the Thanh Hoa Provincial Police Security Investigation Agency for organizing and brokering for others to flee abroad or stay abroad illegally.

Police interrogate suspect Tran Ngoc Chung. Photo:Lam Son

Having just been redeemed by his relatives after many months of working in a casino in Cambodia, Tran Chi Duy (19 years old, living in Khang Phu neighborhood, Quang Tien ward, Sam Son city) said he is still scared every time he remembers his time in a foreign land.

Duy said that due to difficult family circumstances, he once followed his relatives to China to work as a hired worker, but because he saw many risks, he stopped going and stayed home to plan to find a new job.

While waiting for a job, through social media, an old friend in Nam Dinh invited Duy to go to Cambodia to "do easy work, high salary" without paperwork, without money, and all travel expenses would be covered by someone. That prospect made Duy agree.

After the Lunar New Year 2022, Duy and a friend went to Ho Chi Minh City to meet a man and were taken to Long Binh border gate (An Phu district, An Giang) to cross the border into Cambodia. Duy was taken to a casino not far from the border gate.

Duy said that when he walked through the casino door, he lost contact with the broker. He was later informed by the boss that he had been sold for $2,700. Knowing he had been scammed but helpless, Duy had no choice but to accept the job in the hope of earning money to return home.

However, after three months of serving customers at the casino, Duy received another notice that he had been sold to another casino for $4,600. At the new company, Duy was given a computer and a phone to advise on pre-programmed content for online gamblers.

"Every day I had to work 14-15 hours, constantly being checked by armed guards, threatened if I was negligent. All activities were closed within the company premises, no one was allowed to go outside," Duy said. During his time working here, Duy did not receive a salary because the manager said it was deducted from living expenses and immigration brokerage fees.

Tran Chi Duy was returned to his hometown after his family paid 140 million VND in ransom. Photo:Le Hoang

After many sleepless nights of fear, Duy and his friend quit their jobs, but the boss demanded a ransom of 140 million VND or they would be sold to another casino. At this point, Duy was forced to call home for help from his family. To get the money to ransom their son, Duy's family borrowed money and mortgaged the house's red book.

Chien and Duy are two of hundreds of cases in Thanh Hoa province who illegally went to Cambodia to work and received sad endings.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Binh, Head of the Foreign Security Department of Thanh Hoa Provincial Police, among the 19 victims in this province who were recently rescued by authorities in Cambodia, most were lured and enticed by people with close relationships through social networks with attractive offers.

The victims are all young, healthy men without stable jobs, who love to play and know how to use computers... To lure their "prey" into the trap, the brokers organize parties for people in Cambodia, take pictures of luxurious buildings and send them to Vietnam as "bait".

Whenever someone agrees, they continue to ask them to find and introduce more friends and relatives to go with them "to make the pick-up and drop-off more convenient and reduce the waiting time...". To strengthen the victim's trust, the brokers also proactively buy plane tickets and send the victim a certain amount of money to cover travel expenses.

"With the same tricks, many people have tried every way to cross the border to Cambodia to work with the dream of changing their lives without anticipating the consequences that await them ahead," said Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Binh.

According to incomplete statistics from the Foreign Security Department, Thanh Hoa Provincial Police, in 22/27 districts, towns and cities in the province, there are citizens going to Cambodia to work illegally with a total of 381 cases.

Authorities have coordinated to bring 179 people back to the country from Cambodia (rescuing 19 people forced to work in casinos, online game centers; 13 people whose families paid ransom). There are currently more than 200 people working illegally in Cambodia, of which 21 are being held in gambling establishments.

Thanh Hoa Provincial Police have prosecuted eight suspects involved in a number of fraud rings that illegally sent people to Cambodia.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, in the first six months of the year, Vietnamese police coordinated with Cambodian authorities to rescue more than 250 cases of people being tricked into working illegally.

Forced labor and property seizure facilities are concentrated in areas such as Ba Vet, Svaytieng province; Banteay Meanchay, Poipet province; Shihanoukvile city, Preah Shihanouk province; Chrey Thom, Kandal province and in Phnom Penh city.

The Ministry of Public Security recommends that people be wary of invitations to go to Cambodia to do "easy work, high salary" without paying travel expenses. Before going to work, you should carefully research the destination and the identity of the person introducing you.