More than 5,300 people are still trapped in online scam centers near Myanmar’s Thai border, a human rights group said, over one year after thousands were freed during a multinational crackdown in the region.

Scam Centers Operate Illegally

Scam centers in Southeast Asia, including those in Myanmar and Cambodia, run illegal online schemes that defraud people worldwide and generate billions of dollars of annual revenues, according to the United Nations.

Many of these facilities, such as those along parts of the Myanmar-Thailand border, are operated by foreign nationals trafficked there by criminal gangs, often working in oppressive environments and subjected to abuse.

The Civil Society Network for Human Trafficking Victim Assistance (CSNHTV) said many of those trapped were foreign nationals held at four locations inside areas controlled by a Myanmar militia.

The group estimates that the people trapped include around 1,600 Chinese nationals, some 200 Burmese, 20 Thais as well as citizens from the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brazil, Russia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.