KAMPHAENG PHET — Thai police arrested 20 African nationals in Kamphaeng Phet province after one of them contacted the South African Embassy for help, claiming the group was being held against their will while awaiting transport to Cambodia, authorities said Friday.
Police in Muang Kamphaeng Phet district said they were alerted by embassy officials on December 11 and moved quickly to the location provided — a house in Moo 8 of Thepnakhon subdistrict — where officers found 20 men inside. The group included 15 South Africans, four Namibians, and one Zimbabwean.
All carried valid passports, but their visas and permitted stays in Thailand had expired. They were charged with overstaying their visas and taken to Muang Kamphaeng Phet police station for questioning.
Investigators said the group had fled KK Park, a notorious scam center in Myanmar’s Myawaddy area, after the compound was damaged in airstrikes by Myanmar’s military. The men reportedly crossed into Thailand through Tak province’s Phop Phra district, trekked over the mountains to Wang Chao district, and continued through forest routes into Kosamphi Nakhon district in Kamphaeng Phet, where a vehicle picked them up and brought them to the house where they were later found.
Police said the group was waiting to be transported onward to Cambodia via Laos when they were detained.
On Friday morning, officers from multiple agencies — including tourist police, immigration authorities, district officials, and social development officers — jointly questioned the men to determine whether they were trafficking victims or willingly involved in online fraud operations.
Through interpreters, the detainees told investigators their passports had been confiscated when they began working as scammers in KK Park. Each person was required to call at least 15 targets daily between 4:30 p.m. and 5 a.m., focusing mainly on British and American victims.
They said they were originally promised a monthly salary of US$760 but received only US$410. Workers were pressured to generate US$50,000 in fraudulent proceeds to earn a US$315 commission, and their passports were returned only after meeting those quotas.
They also said about 300 foreign nationals had been working in the compound before the bombing. After the attack, the Chinese operators reportedly moved about 100 workers to a new location in Cambodia.
The group said Chinese handlers arranged for their escape into Thailand by ferrying them across the Moei River near Myawaddy in groups of 10, then transporting them by pickup trucks and on foot through Tak province.
Two groups arrived at the Kamphaeng Phet safehouse — one at 6 p.m. on December 10 and another at 1 a.m. on December 11. Police believe one member contacted the South African Embassy because he no longer wanted to continue scam work in Cambodia.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
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