Vietnam rescues 400 citizens tricked to work illegally in Cambodia

So far this year, authorities in Vietnam and Cambodia have worked together to verify cases in which Vietnamese people had been taken to Cambodia by human traffickers.

The collaboration resulted in nearly 400 Vietnamese being rescued and brought home, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang told press Sunday.

In recent times, it has been increasingly reported that many Vietnamese had been tricked to work in Cambodia.

In most cases, trafficking rings advertised their services on Facebook and Zalo, a Vietnamese texting and calling app, targeting people of working age but without stable jobs, promising a career with a monthly salary of up to thousands of dollars.

The victims were typically smuggled into Cambodia via unofficial routes and sent to work at foreign-owned companies.

Owners of such companies would request their Vietnamese staff to set up different social media accounts disguised as commercial sites or financial investment platforms to rob unsuspecting customers.

If refusing to do so, the Vietnamese workers would be beaten and left to starve, according to police.

In other cases, people smuggled to Cambodia included young women forced to work as prostitutes.

The victims told police anyone that wants to return to Vietnam must first contact their families and pay bail of around VND80-100 million ($3,446).