Around 30 Indians trapped in Myanmar's Myawaddy area after falling prey to job scam

The Indian embassy in Myanmar has rescued over 30 Indians out of the 60 trapped in that country's Myawaddy area after falling prey to an international racket promising jobs in Thailand, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Myawaddy area in southeastern Myanmar's Kayin state bordering Thailand is not fully under the control of the Myanmarese government and certain ethnic armed groups hold sway over it.

The people said the Indian nationals were duped by the international gang that offered them jobs in Thailand, but instead, were taken illegally to Myanmar.

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"As per the available information from various sources, more than 60 Indian nationals were duped by the fraudsters. They are reportedly in the area of Myawaddy. This area is not fully under the control of the government of Myanmar," said one of the people.

They said the Indian embassy in Yangon has been working closely with the Government of Myanmar for their rescue.

"There are other efforts for rescuing these Indian citizens through various contacts among the business community, given that the area is not fully under the control of the local authorities," the person cited above said.

"So far, the embassy has rescued more than 30 Indian citizens trapped in the Myawaddy area, and is continuing all efforts to get the others out as early as possible," he said.

On July 5, the Indian mission issued an advisory cautioning against unscrupulous elements offering jobs.

"The mission has observed in recent past that some lT companies engaged in digital scamming/forge crypto activities located in remote eastern border areas of Myanmar are recruiting Indian workers from different places through their recruiting agents on the pretext of potential employment opportunities in the IT sector," it said.

After initial recruitment, the mission said Indian workers are taken to Myanmar illegally without proper documentation leading to their "entrapment".

"In view of the above, Indian nationals are hereby requested to exercise due caution and verify the antecedents of the recruiting agents. It is advisable to have all requisite information (job description, company details, location, employment contract etc.) before accepting any employment that has been offered," it said.

Myanmar is one of India's strategic neighbours and it shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states including Nagaland and Manipur.