Twice went to Cambodia to ransom seven teenagers sold into casinos

Mr. Lan is a mechanic who has worked in many countries in Southeast Asia. With his colleague relationship, he soon connected with an acquaintance in Cambodia to ask for help in ransoming his son and three other teenagers who were tricked and sold by Nguyen Van Anh to the Yong Yuan casino at the end of April.

More than a month later, three families living in Hong Phong Commune, An Duong District contacted him for help when they were in a similar situation. The families said that at the end of May, three ninth-grade boys suddenly disappeared.

"After the year-end party, all three of them did not come home. Before that, the children said they wanted to work part-time during the summer to earn some pocket money. We thought they had gone to Hai Phong or Hanoi to find work, so we split up to look for them. After more than two days without seeing them, the three families had to report to the police," said Mr. Tan, the father of one of the teenagers.

About three days after going missing, a boy texted his family to say he was working in a faraway place, promising a high income. "After that message, there was no news. We thought the children had gone to Cambodia, so we went there together to look for them. However, because we could not contact them, the search was very difficult and yielded no results," said Mr. Tan.

A week after leaving home, the three teenagers texted to say they had been sold to a casino in Cambodia for $2,400. This is a large casino located very close to the Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh province. To avoid the same difficulties as last time, the three families asked an acquaintance to contact Mr. Lan, hoping that his experience would help them redeem their children.

"I have experienced their feelings so I understand. I myself also quit my job in Singapore to return home because I was worried about my child," Mr. Lan shared.

Through many connections, he learned the location of the three children. "It turned out that the children were sold to the Venus casino in Bavet town, Svay Rieng province, Cambodia. This location is very close to the Moc Bai border gate," said Mr. Lan.

After many discussions, Mr. Lan asked the three teenagers to talk to the manager about the family's redemption. Initially, the casino manager agreed to the price of 2,400 USD. However, after that, the casino continuously communicated back and forth, changing many plans. "Sometimes they said if they didn't redeem them quickly, they would sell them elsewhere, and other times they said they had to work here for a few months because the casino needed people, not money," the mother of the three teenagers recalled the time waiting for negotiations to save her children.

"Once I got there, I knew that staying any longer would be dangerous and costly," Mr. Lan discussed with the three families and continued to talk to the casino. Finally, the casino manager offered a ransom of $6,000 per person.

Three teenagers send location of casino in Cambodia to family. Photo:NVCC

On July 3, Mr. Lan and two family members of the three teenagers left for Cambodia. The group was picked up by an acquaintance of his in a private car.

On July 4, the casino arranged for an open area, far from the highway, near the Venus Casino. When the group's car reached the lot, a black Lexus approached. When the two cars passed each other, the Lexus' window was rolled down so that Mr. Lan's group could see the children's faces, then it drove off and parked a distance away.

"This time, they asked for cash. We had prepared 12,000 USD so we ransomed the two children first. Just like last time, the money was in a bag, placed at a location. After receiving the people, we put them in the car and drove away very quickly," Mr. Lan recalled.

On the morning of July 5, when the remaining child's family had found the money, Mr. Lan continued the ransom transaction at 9am. In total, each family "looking for their child" lost nearly 200 million VND.

Returning home, the three teenagers said they had seen information on social media recruiting people to do computer work with high salaries. After sending their personal information, the group of teenagers were contacted by a woman who gave them travel instructions and booked bus and plane tickets to Ho Chi Minh City. Afterwards, the three teenagers were taken by car to the casino to work without knowing they had gone to Cambodia. It was only when the casino manager said they had been sold there by someone else that the three boys panicked and called their families for help.

On July 4, the Ministry of Public Security issued a warning about the situation of many Vietnamese workers being tricked into being sold to Cambodia with the lure of "easy work, high salary". Those who want to return home must call relatives in Vietnam to pay ransom. Forced labor facilities,extortionconcentrated 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 Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia said the victims said they were lured by online advertisements for jobs with salaries of 800-1,000 USD per month. Many were tortured and brutally beaten when they tried to escape from their workplaces and detention. If you need support or information related to human trafficking crimes in Cambodia, please contact the following numbers: +855-974056789; +855-977435678; or the Citizen Protection Hotline +84 981 84 84 84.

In the first six months of the year, Vietnamese police coordinated with Cambodian authorities to rescue more than 250 people who were tricked into working illegally.