Smugglers are using border crossings along the Mekong River to bring scam center workers into Cambodia from Laos, despite the presence of government forces deployed to prevent it, residents told Radio Free Asia.
The smuggling of mostly Chinese nationals happens around the clock in northern Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, the residents said.
The area on the west bank of the Mekong River is next to Laos’ Si Phan Don -– a riverine archipelago dotted with several hundred islands.
Smugglers cross from the river by boat and unload the illegal immigrants on Cambodia’s riverbank in Kampong Sralao 1 and Kampong Sralao 2 communes, according to one resident, who asked not to be named for safety reasons.
Cars are often parked at a nearby casino near the Preah Nimit waterfall tourist site as they wait for the smugglers. They drive off toward Phnom Penh once the sun sets, he said.
“I see it firsthand,” he said. “Sometimes they pick up just one or two people. Sometimes it’s a full truck.”
“I’m afraid they’ll find out what I said,” he added. “But everyone knows.”
The illegal immigrants are most likely brought to Chinese-controlled special zones in Sihanoukville, Bavet or along the Thai border.
They are typically held against their will by criminal gangs and told to use Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook and other platforms to try to scam people, mostly through efforts to convince people to invest in bogus enterprises.
Five entry points
Other residents of Kampong Sralao 1 and Kampong Sralao 2 told RFA that there are as many as five points along the river where smugglers land.
Several spoke critically of the Cambodian government, which last year announced a deployment of joint security forces to stop drug smuggling in the area.
Radio Free Asia couldn’t immediately reach Preah Vihear provincial government spokesman Nop Vutthy and provincial police chief Sos Sokdara for comment on Thursday.
In November, provincial authorities reported that 56 Chinese people were detained between January and October 20204 on suspicion of illegally crossing the border.
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On Feb. 21, acting district governor Um Sopheun acknowledged that the number of people seen crossing from Laos into Cambodia appeared to be increasing. He urged the joint security forces to refocus on stopping illegal immigration, according to a report from a monthly meeting of district administrators.
The influx of illegal Chinese immigrants is probably related to the involvement of some government officials in Cambodia’s scam center industry, former opposition lawmaker Um Sam An said.
“All of these problems affect the image of the Cambodian government to tourists,” he said. “And this also affects investment and the economy.”
Translated by Sum Sok Ry. Edited by Matt Reed.