Tangerang. Indonesian police have foiled an attempt to illegally send 10 migrant workers to Cambodia, where they were likely to be forced into working for online gambling or scam networks, an official said on Wednesday.

Two individuals were arrested on charges of illegal hiring and human trafficking during an operation at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

"The workers agreed to be sent to Cambodia because of promised salaries of between Rp 9 million and Rp 12 million ($547-$730), without considering the risks," said Second Inspector Herman Slamet, head of the airport police's criminal investigation unit.

The workers, aged between 20 and 30, were recruited through social media messages. According to Herman, some of them had previously worked as online gambling operators in Cambodia and had persuaded their peers to accept the job offers.

One of the workers has also been named a criminal suspect alongside the two recruiters. Their identities were not disclosed.

The three suspects face charges under Indonesia's migrant workers protection law and the human trafficking law, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.

Cambodia and neighboring Myanmar have gained notoriety as hubs for cybercrime networks in the region. In a recent report, Amnesty International detailed an 18-month investigation into cybercrime in Cambodia, criticizing the government for "deliberately ignoring a litany of human rights abuses, including slavery, human trafficking, child labor, and torture" carried out by criminal gangs in more than 50 scamming compounds.

Amnesty International noted that these syndicates recruit workers under false pretenses and then hold them captive.

During a crackdown by the Cambodian government, more than 1,000 suspects were arrested, including approximately 270 Indonesian nationals.

The Indonesian government has repeatedly warned its citizens against accepting job offers in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand due to the high risk of being exploited by cybercrime syndicates.

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