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KUALA LUMPUR – The Foreign Ministry has been put on alert after Malaysians were found among more than 2,700 cybercrime syndicate victims who were rescued following a massive raid by police in the Philippines this week.
The ministry said the Malaysian embassy in Manila has begun identifying and validating the status of 134 victims who are believed to be Malaysian citizens out of a total of 2,714 victims of the criminal syndicate that was offering fraudulent job offers.
Those who were attracted by the syndicate’s offer were subsequently subjected to forced labour and wrongful imprisonment in the Philippines.
The embassy has confirmed that local Philippine authorities raided the company Xinchuan Network Technology Inc and managed to save the syndicate victims, consisting of citizens of various countries, including Malaysia, the ministry said in the statement today.
“Victims who are believed to be Malaysian citizens will undergo an investigation process, documentation and deportation to Malaysia in the near future,” it added.
It was earlier reported that Philippine police backed by commandos staged a massive raid on June 27 and rescued more than 2,700 workers from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and more than a dozen other countries. The victims were allegedly duped into working for fraudulent online gaming sites and other cybercrime groups.
The human trafficking victims were rescued from seven buildings in Las Pinas city in metropolitan Manila. The night-time police raid was the largest so far this year, according to reports. – The Vibes, June 28, 2023
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