Thousands of human trafficking victims from all over Asia – and as far away as Africa – are trapped at a scam casino complex on the Thai-Burmese border that RFA has been investigating, local sources say.
The workers have been seen inside a large, guarded compound in the village of Kyauk Khat – a remote development some 20 miles south of the major trade city of Myawaddy, in Kayin state.
RFA reported earlier this month that victims are lured by false advertisements for jobs at a casino but instead are forced into a particular kind of labor: faking online romances to scam victims out of money.
Former detainees whose families paid a hefty ransom for their release told RFA Lao that they were tortured if they failed to scam people.
Three local sources living in the area who have also spoken to RFA on condition of anonymity said at least a thousand more victims remain trapped there.
“As far as I know, they are not allowed to go out,” one of the sources told RFA Burmese. “Only if they absolutely need to, are they allowed to go to medical clinics or hospitals.”
Severely injured people with “swollen limbs and electrocution marks” have been taken out of the compound, which is guarded by ethnic Karen militia soldiers in control of the area, the local source said.
Workers on the premises are sometimes forced to carry buckets of water or to walk around with weights under the hot sun without breaks.
“Some of them fainted from such punishments and were sent to hospitals,” the source said. “I have seen one die.”
RFA reported earlier this month that locals identified the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a splinter force under the command of a brigadier general, Sai Kyaw Hla, as being in charge of the compound.
The DKBA denied involvement in trafficking, but the source who spoke to RFA Burmese said the group erected the walls around the scam compound and continue to provide security for the facility.
‘No progress at all’
The descriptions provided by the local source, who has familiarity with the goings-on at the compound, match those given by victims and former detainees who earlier spoke to RFA about their ordeal at the site, which they called “Casino Kosai.”
Dozens of teenagers and youths from the Luang Namtha province in Laos have been trafficked there, along with Filipino, Chinese and youths from African countries, sources have told RFA. The captives are forced to work up to 16 hours a day.
Lao authorities have claimed that efforts to help the youths are hampered by lack of access due to heavy fighting in the region. Kayin state has been the epicenter of intense conflict between pro- and anti-junta forces that continues to escalate.
“There are more soldiers here now than before. I have never seen that many before," a Lao victim who is still trapped at Casino Kosai said in a text message he managed to send to RFA Lao this week.
However, experts and victims say that complicity is also a key reason for the lack of action from authorities.
A mother whose son is trapped at the casino told RFA that authorities she had been in touch with made “no progress at all” after receiving her request for help freeing him.
“The police never call us back to explain what they are doing about the cases,” she said. “The higher ranking officials are the same – they’ve provided no help.”
Another victim’s mother said: “We have urged the government to help get our sons and daughters out of that place as soon as they can,” but the lack of progress has made the past week – the traditional Lao New Year – uncharacteristically weighted by sadness.
Other parents described being unable to eat or sleep knowing that there is nothing they can do to help while their children are enduring beatings and other mistreatment.
RFA received no reply from Lao anti-trafficking officials contacted in Vientiane, and Lao police told RFA to go elsewhere for help.
RFA was able to speak with two trafficking victims, who said little had changed about their situation while they await help from authorities. They continue to languish at the facility, working grueling hours and withstanding regular mistreatment, with little hope for rescue.
“Everyday we are waiting to return home,” one of them said. “We’ve been stuck here for seven months already.”
Translated by Sidney Khotpanya and Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Boer Deng.