JAKARTA: Eighty-four Indonesians returned home overnight on two flights from Thailand, Indonesian officials said on Saturday (Mar 1), the latest group of alleged scam workers to be repatriated from the region.
Cyberscam operations, which have thrived in Myanmar’s lawless border areas for several years, lure foreign workers with promises of high-paying jobs but hold them hostage and force them into committing online fraud.
Under pressure from key ally Beijing, Myanmar has cracked down on some of the compounds, freeing around 7,000 workers from more than two dozen countries.
The 69 Indonesian men and 15 women landed in Jakarta after negotiations between Indonesian officials and their Thai and Myanmar counterparts, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affair’s citizen protection director Judha Nugraha told AFP on Saturday.
“They will be brought to the Social Affairs Ministry’s safehouse and trauma centre. They will undergo a rehabilitation process,” he said.
Ministry spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat also confirmed their return.
The group, which included three pregnant women, were in “good condition and healthy” after their evacuation from Myanmar, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
They arrived in Jakarta on two AirAsia flights – one late Friday and one early Saturday.
The ministry said it had repatriated an early group of 46 Indonesians in February, bringing the total repatriated since last month to 140.
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