Twelve Moroccan nationals, initially recruited for jobs in Myanmar’s casinos but instead ended up working for call center gangs in the border town of Myawaddy, were transported to Thailand on Friday through the Tak border checkpoint.
This rescue effort was a joint operation between the Royal Thai Army and the Moroccan Embassy, following contact from Move Forward MP Rangsiman Rome in May to assist in rescuing the 21 Moroccans trapped in Myanmar.
Rangsiman leads a House committee focused on security and border matters.
The Army collaborated with local NGOs and humanitarian groups to assess the victims’ conditions and orchestrate their release through negotiations with the casino’s owner.
After interviewing the victims, officials discovered that 21 individuals had been deceived by a call center gang in Morocco. Of these, seven were freed after their families paid a ransom to the gang, while two chose to remain employed there.
Rangsiman, expressing gratitude to the Army for their actions on Friday, emphasized the ongoing issue of Thais and foreigners being scammed into working under slave-like conditions in the neighboring country.
“It’s time for the government to take this problem seriously. It should be made part of the national agenda,” said Rangsiman, a party-list MP from the opposition Move Forward Party.
“Measures should be implemented to protect people from being deceived by these scamming gangs,” he said. “The issue here is not just human trafficking, but also the theft of victims’ properties, violation of their rights, and other illegal work.”
