3 trafficking victims repatriated from Myanmar
MANILA, Philippines — Three Filipinos fell victim to a suspected syndicate in Myanmar that scams westerners, reported the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
Three males, between the ages of 20 to 30, were enticed to work as call center agents in Thailand through Facebook, the agency said in its statement last Oct. 28.
Upon arrival in Thailand, they were surprised when they were “fetched by a van and transported to Mae Sot, Thailand to cross the border to Myanmar via boat.”
While in Myanmar, they worked as “love scammers targeting Americans and Europeans” to invest in fake cryptocurrency accounts for up to 18 hours a day, with no day off.
They were punished by doing push-ups and jump squats when they failed to reach their quota, and were guarded by their supervisors when using their cellphones.
The victims were released after paying P90,000 to the said syndicate.
They arrived in the country last Oct. 27 on a Philippine Airlines flight from Bangkok, the BI said.
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