Jakarta. The Indonesian embassies in Yangon and Bangkok have rescued 20 Indonesians from a human trafficking scheme in Myawaddy, Myanmar, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The victims were Indonesian job seekers who got duped into working as online scammers for crypto sites or apps. The ministry also attributed the rescue to the Indonesian embassy in Yangon’s teamwork with a “local network” that had access to the strife-torn Myawaddy. They have also taken the trafficked Indonesians to the borders in Thailand. 

The evacuation to the borders took place in two rounds: the first 4 people on May 5 and the remaining 16 people the next day. The citizen protection team at the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok will take the victims to the Thailand capital.

“Our embassy in Bangkok will coordinate with the Thai authorities for the repatriation permits to Indonesia,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Saturday night.

The Myawaddy township is the site of an armed conflict between Myanmar’s military and Karen rebels. The family members of the 20 victims earlier this week filed a police report against the fake recruiters who trafficked them to Myanmar.