More than 2,700 workers from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and over a dozen other countries were reportedly lured into working for shady online gaming sites and other cybercrime organisations, according to Philippine police who claimed they rescued them in a massive raid on Tuesday with the support of commandos.
The number of victims of human trafficking rescued from seven buildings in Las Pinas city, metropolitan Manila, and the size of the midnight police raid were the biggest this year, demonstrating how the Philippines has developed into a significant hub for cybercrime syndicates.
With reports of people from the region and beyond being duped into accepting jobs in nations like conflict-torn Myanmar and Cambodia, cybercrime scams have grown to be a significant problem throughout Asia. However, a lot of these workers find themselves ensnared in a form of virtual slavery and compelled to take part in online frauds that prey on unsuspecting victims.
At a summit in Indonesia in May, ASEAN leaders decided to bolster border security, law enforcement, and public education in order to combat organised crime groups that smuggle people abroad and force them to engage in online fraud.
According to Brig. Gen. Sydney Hernia, head of the national Philippine police's anti-cybercrime unit, police in Las Pinas, Philippines, raided and searched the buildings around midnight and freed 1,190 foreigners from at least 17 countries, including 604 Chinese, 183 Vietnamese, 137 Indonesians, 134 Malaysians, and 81 Thais.
In total, 1,534 Filipinos were also saved. There were also a few people from Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Myanmar, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Sudan.
It wasn't immediately apparent how many alleged syndicate leaders had been detained.
Earlier this year in May, police said they arrested over 1,400 Filipino and international labourers who were allegedly forced to work on cryptocurrency schemes during a raid on another suspected cybercrime camp at the Clark freeport in Mabalacat city, Pampanga province, north of Manila.
Police said that several of the employees testified to investigators that when they attempted to resign, they were required to pay a sizable sum for unclear reasons or they were concerned that they would be sold to other syndicates. They also added that employees were also required to pay fines for alleged workplace breaches.
Facebook adverts used great working circumstances and big wage offers to entice workers, but, according to officials, the claims turned out to be a deception.
Indonesian Minister Muhammad Mahfud, who handles political, legal, and security matters, told reporters that his country and other nations in the area had trouble cooperating with Myanmar on issues relating to cybercrime and its victims.
He asserted that ASEAN must move forward on a long-proposed regional extradition convention in order to aid law enforcement in prosecuting offenders more quickly and stop the spread of cybercrime.