Eight Sri Lankans, rescued from cybercrime camps in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar, have arrived safely at the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Thailand. The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, Mr. Janaka Bandara, confirmed that the rescued individuals will be repatriated to Sri Lanka in the coming days. This comes after Myanmar government authorities rescued eight out of 56 Sri Lankans trapped in cybercrime camps in early March, transferring them to the Myawaddy central police station.
Today, Burmese immigration officials handed the group over to Thai officials across the Thai–Myanmar Friendship Bridge. Ambassador Bandara stated that the rescued Sri Lankans are in good health and are currently being accommodated at the Sri Lankan embassy in Thailand. Media reports from December 2023 shed light on the plight of nearly 60 Sri Lankans who were lured to Myanmar with false promises of lucrative IT sector jobs, only to be held captive by a notorious ethnic armed group. They were trafficked into Myanmar for cyber slavery, where they were forced to commit internet scams. Reports indicate that captives were subjected to torture, including electrocution, waterboarding, hanging by their hands, and starvation if they refused to comply with demands. Muk