“They took our passports. They beat us. If you refuse to work, they electrocute you.”
These are the words of Peter Mwangi, a 28-year-old Kenyan taxi driver, describing the horrors he endured in one of Myanmar’s cyber scam compounds.
Lured by the promise of a high-paying customer service job in Bangkok, Thailand, instead he found himself being trafficked into a modern-day slavery ring. Upon arrival, his passport was confiscated, his phone destroyed, and his freedom taken away.
For four months, Mwangi and other victims were forced to work 18 to 19 hours a day using artificial intelligence tools to scam real estate investors in the United States. Under constant surveillance by Chinese syndicates, each 12-member team was required to generate $10,000 daily – failure meant brutal punishment.
“If I failed to meet my target, I was locked in a dark room, beaten with rods, denied food, and electrocuted,” Mwangi told Citizen TV.
He was among 7,000 victims of 28 nationalities rescued from Myanmar’s cyber slavery camps who had been promised high-paying tech jobs. Among them were citizens of China, Ethiopia, Brazil, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Laos, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uganda, Cambodia, Kenya, Nigeria, India, and Tanzania.
According to a March 2 statement by the Kenyan government, 64 Kenyans were rescued and were awaiting repatriation.
However, even after being rescued, the ordeal for some is far from over. For weeks, they have been held under military guard at the Thai-Myanmar border, not as prisoners but for protection. Authorities feared the same Chinese crime syndicates that had enslaved them would try to recapture them.
“We have to be under constant guard because the syndicates would come back and force us back,” Mwangi says.
Crackdown on Myanmar’s cyber slavery syndicates
The massive crackdown came in January 2025 when Chinese actor, Wang Xing, was kidnapped and trafficked into Myanmar under the pretense of being called for a film casting. His case sparked outrage in China, forcing Beijing to pressure Thailand and Myanmar to take action.
In January, China and Thailand established a coordination center in Bangkok to dismantle the syndicates and oversee repatriations. As part of these efforts, in February 2025, Thailand cut electricity and internet to three major scam hubs in Myanmar in an attempt to cripple operations.
According to United Nations estimates, these cybercrime syndicates defrauded victims across East and Southeast Asia of an estimated $18 billion to $37 billion in 2023 through romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and fake investment schemes.
Crammed rescue centers and difficult repatriation efforts
Despite multinational efforts to shut down the cybercrime syndicates, thousands of victims remain stranded in overcrowded detention centers along the Thai-Myanmar border. These facilities, often repurposed scam compounds or army camps controlled by militias, lack basic necessities. Victims face hunger, disease, and unsanitary conditions, as reported by Associated Press
“We have one toilet for everyone, which doubles as a bathroom. Some are sick and can’t get medicine, and we are being fed white rice only,” Mwangi said.
Governments are struggling to repatriate victims due to bureaucratic delays, security risks, overcrowded facilities, and a lack of funds.
Although Thailand is coordinating with various embassies to facilitate repatriations, the process remains slow and fraught with challenges. Some nations lack embassies in Thailand which is also delaying processing. Armed militias still operate in Myanmar which makes rescue operations dangerous.
How Myanmar became a hub for cyber slavery
Myanmar has become a global hotspot for cyber slavery, largely due to the lawlessness in its border regions. These areas are controlled by armed militias and criminal syndicates that are operating outside the control of Myanmar’s government.
Compounds like KK Park in Myawaddy serve as hubs for illicit activities, where traffickers operate with impunity, enslaving thousands to conduct online fraud. Myanmar’s ongoing civil conflict has only worsened the situation, making it difficult for the authorities to dismantle these operations.
The role of AI in cyber slavery and fraud
Technology, particularly artificial intelligence, has supercharged cyber slavery making scams more sophisticated and harder to detect. Victims like Mwangi were forced to utilize AI-powered tools to improve the success of scam operations. According to cybercrime reports, criminals use AI-powered tools such as FraudGPT and WormGPT to automate scams, creating a global crisis in online fraud.
