Eight Lankans held in Myanmar cyber slave camp rescued

Sri Lankan Ambassador to Myanmar Janaka Priyantha Bandara stated that a group of eight Sri Lankans who were being held hostage at a cyber slave camp in Myanmar, controlled by some terrorist groups, has been rescued.

The Sri Lankan Ambassador said that the Myanmar Home Affairs Ministry has officially confirmed that the eight Sri Lankans have been rescued. He said that the rescued group includes six men and two women.

This successful rescue operation has been spearheaded by the Myanmar government through a well-orchestrated contingency plan to save the Sri Lankans held captive by the Myanmar terrorists.

According to the Sri Lankan Ambassador, the eight rescued Sri Lankans are presently being kept at the Myawaddy Central Police Station in Myanmar, which is in a region that is operated by the Myanmar government.

Ambassador Bandara added that necessary steps are being taken to repatriate the eight rescued Sri Lankans that are being worked out jointly by the Sri Lanka Mission in Myanmar, the Foreign Ministry and other relevant authorities to ensure their safe return to Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, 48 more from the group of Sri Lankans forcibly used as cyber slaves to commit internet cyber crimes and scams by the terrorists, are still to be rescued.

The Foreign Ministry, in coordination with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Myanmar, has been engaged in efforts to rescue and repatriate 56 Sri Lankans who became victims of human trafficking and have been trapped in Myanmar in an area controlled by terrorist groups.

A group of 56 Sri Lankans had left the country in December 2023, duped into travelling to Myanmar on tourist visas by promising fake job opportunities related to Information Technology (IT) in Thailand. These 56 Sri Lankans comprising 41 men and 15 women had been trafficked to Myanmar illegally through its border with Thailand. The group had not registered with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) before travelling to Myanmar.

The 56 Sri Lankans had been trapped in the Cyber Criminal Area (CCA) at the terrorist camp in Myawaddy which is infested with cyber crimes run under the grip of an armed terrorist group.

These terrorists who control the area have been using them as cyber slaves forced to carry out various internet cyber crimes and scams subjecting them to inhumane treatment and demanding US$ 8,000 per person for their release. The group of 56 Lankans has been kept in three camps in the CCA with 48 of them held in one camp.

Following a discussion with the Myanmar authorities, the Sri Lankan Embassy was able to rescue another group of 32 Sri Lankans in 2023. Further discussions have been underway between the Sri Lankan and Myanmar authorities to rescue the remaining 56 Sri Lankans held captive since then.

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