Fourteen Indian citizens trapped in a cyber-crime racket in Cambodia have been rescued, and efforts are on to repatriate them, according to the Indian embassy in Cambodia.
The Indian embassy in Cambodia in collaboration with the authorities got the 14 Indian citizens released. They were being looked after by the Cambodian side, the embassy said in a post on X over the weekend.
In an official press release, the Indian embassy in Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh said that it had facilitated the rescue and repatriation of over 650 Indian citizens who had fallen victim to fraudulent job offers that lured them into cyber-crime operations.
It said that the Indian embassy provided specific leads to the Cambodian police, leading to the rescue.
The recently rescued individuals were being cared for by an NGO working in collaboration with Cambodia’s Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation.
“The [Indian] Embassy continues to closely monitor the situation and remains committed to protecting the welfare of Indian citizens in Cambodia. Indian nationals are advised to exercise extreme caution regarding any job offers in the country and to report any suspicious activities to the Embassy,” the release said.
In April this year, the Indian Embassy in Cambodia had issued an advisory against fake job scams. “It has come to attention that Indian nationals, lured by fake promises of lucrative job opportunities in Cambodia, are falling into the trap of human traffickers. These Indian nationals are coerced to undertake online financial scams and other illegal activities,” it said.
The embassy advised Indian nationals intending to visit Cambodia for employment to do so only through authorised agents. It also advised the jobseekers to thoroughly check the background of the prospective employer.
