Cambodia authorities had rescued some 865 foreigners from human trafficking in 87 cases from January 1 to August 20, 2022, Deputy Minister and Minister of the Interior Sar Kheng said on August 26.

Illustrative image (Source: humanium.org)

A total of 60 human trafficking suspects in 17 cases had been sent to court, he said.

According to the results of research and interrogation, many of these foreigners were deceived via social media to cross borders illegally into Cambodia, with the promise of high-paying jobs, he said.

But they were compelled to work at illegal online gambling companies and had become victims of human trafficking, he said, adding that criminals had trafficked and transferred them from one company to another, or from one group to another, without their consent, and in some cases, they suffered violence and intimidation if they disobeyed the criminals' orders.

Sar Kheng condemned these inhumane acts, saying that the government was strongly committed to fighting against fraudulent acts, telecom scams, illicit drugs, money laundering and illegal online gambling.

He said those rescued victims had been exempted from fines related to their immigration status and had been deported back to their birth countries in accordance with the Cambodian law.

Source: VNA