KAMPHAENG PHET, THAILAND – A distress call to a foreign embassy led Thai police to 20 African men who said they had escaped a notorious scam compound in Myanmar and were hiding while awaiting onward transport.
Embassy alert triggers raid on safe house
The key tip reached police from the South African Embassy on 11 December, after diplomats reported that one of their nationals claimed a group was being held against its will. Officers went to a house in Moo 8 village in Thepnakhon district, where they found 20 men – 15 South Africans, four Namibians and one Zimbabwean. All had valid passports but their Thai visas had expired, leading to arrests for unlawful stay and subsequent questioning.
Perilous escape via river and forest
During questioning, the men said they had fled KK Park, a well-known scam center in Myawaddy, Myanmar, which had been damaged by airstrikes from the Myanmar army. They described crossing into Thailand in small groups by swimming over the Moei River into Tak province, then walking over mountains and through forests to Kamphaeng Phet. In the province they were picked up by car and taken to the safe house, where they waited to be moved to Cambodia via Laos.
Strict quotas and confiscated passports
The group outlined a harsh regime inside KK Park, saying their passports were seized on arrival. They said they were required to call at least 15 targets per day and generate a total of 1,580 US dollars (about 1,460 euros) in fraudulent proceeds. Only then, they said, would they receive a commission of 315 dollars and have their passports returned.
Hundreds of foreigners in scam compound
According to their account, around 300 foreign workers had been employed at the camp before the bombing. They told investigators that the Chinese operators moved about 100 workers to Cambodia after the air attacks. The men were intercepted in Thailand while allegedly waiting to be transferred onward as part of that relocation.
Victims of trafficking or willing fraudsters?
Police said they were trying to determine whether the men were victims of human trafficking or willing participants in the fraud ring.
“One of the South Africans contacted the embassy because he did not want to continue the scam work in Cambodia,”
said a police officer, adding that this indicated possible coercion. The investigation was continuing, and officials said that if forced labor claims were confirmed, the men could be treated as victims; if not, they could face severe penalties.
Thailand as a transit hub in global fraud
Authorities said the case highlighted the international reach of organized online crime, in which Africans were lured or trafficked to Asia and forced to commit fraud. Thailand often served as a transit country for both victims and perpetrators, putting pressure on law enforcement to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks. For the 20 detained men, the journey had come to a halt in Thai custody, caught between official accusations and the promises made by their recruiters.