Enslaved: An Investigation

An entrance to a rented-out guesthouse with fingerprint security in Poipet on December 31, 2022. (Michael Dickison/VOD)

Residents Say ‘Online’ Has Taken Over Poipet Accommodations

Jan 5, 5:26 pm

Many guesthouses and hotels across Poipet have been fully booked out by “online” companies to house their foreign workers, turning the city into a boomtown for the hazy work.

The burnt down Grand Diamond Casino in Poipet city on December 31, 2022. (Michael Dickison/VOD)

Casino Cleaner Recalls Three Hours in Poipet Inferno

Jan 3, 9:00 am

Workers stuck inside the Grand Diamond City Casino told VOD their harrowing accounts of escaping the burning buildings, with the incident also raising serious questions about fire safety measures in the casino.

Enslavement, Violent Crimes and Rule by Law: Justice 2022

Dec 28, 10:19 am

“Peace” is written across every local and central government building in Cambodia, but not always found within them. This year has been marked by episodes of abuse and corruption from government officials, as well as intimidation against whistleblowers and journalists.

A bridge connects two separate sections of the Thmor Da SEZ. (Tran Techseng/VOD)

Sar Kheng Attacks Police Excuses in Scam Trafficking

Nov 22, 4:46 pm

The dusty road outside tycoon Try Pheap’s Thmor Da SEZ in Pursat is empty. But behind locked metal gates, its shabby buildings appear full of inhabitants. Interior Minister Sar Kheng this week called out police excuses in their crackdown on scam compounds, urging vigilance.

Chairs, a table and bunk bed frames are stacked outside a currency exchange shop's doorway after an apparent exodus in the Chinatown complex in Sihanoukville's Buon commune on September 21, 2022. (Yan Huang/VOD)

The Big Transfer: Sihanoukville Scammers Scatter

Nov 3, 3:34 pm

Workers say their scam companies moved before and during police raids of compounds, allowing businesses to escape the law — and some workers to escape detention.

Scam Workers Relocated From Cambodia to Laos, Myanmar

Oct 24, 3:03 pm

Amid targeted raids and arrests against scam and human trafficking operations in Cambodia, accounts from victims and a rescue group indicate that at least some syndicates are going to great lengths to relocate workers to a new country to evade capture.

A city bus prepares to take foreign nationals from a Phnom Penh apartment block on Boeng Keng Kang’s St. 310 to the airport on October 13, 2022. (Mech Dara/VOD)

Police Raid Delivers Dozens of Foreign Nationals Straight to Airport

Oct 13, 5:59 pm

Dozens of foreign workers were taken from a central Phnom Penh condominium under heavy police presence and driven straight to the airport on Thursday.

Workers compounds in Svay Rieng’s Bavet city on October 7, 2022. (Michael Dickison/VOD)

Echoes of Sihanoukville Troubles in Cambodian Border Town

Oct 11, 6:23 pm

As police raids have hit known scam locations and “illegal gambling” dens across the country, residents of casino haven Bavet say they have seen buses ferrying in hundreds of workers over the last few weeks to existing casinos and alleged scam compounds in the border town.

Over 10 Phnom Penh Condos, Hotels Raided Over Trafficking, Online ‘Services’

Sep 27, 7:26 pm

Hundreds of foreign nationals have been removed from Phnom Penh compounds as police acknowledged detention, torture, extortion and human trafficking in several arrests.

The "Welcome to Batam" sign on a hillside in Batam city, Indonesia on July 16, 2022. (Danielle Keeton-Olsen/VOD)

Learning to Scam Under the Threat of Tasers

Sep 21, 11:24 am

Indonesian nationals rescued from a Phnom Penh scam compound say they were targeting Facebook users every day to cheat them out of thousands of dollars. Most are relieved to have gotten away from the criminal work and threat of violence that hovered over them.

Police in Sihanoukville in September 2022. (Mech Dara/VOD)

Eerie Silence Descends on Notorious Sihanoukville Scam Compounds

Sep 19, 9:22 pm

Nearly 9,000 phones were seized from a Sihanoukville compound and barbed wire cut from the notorious “Chinatown” area. As human trafficking raids target compounds across the city, residents say other buildings appear to be quietly emptying of foreign workers.

Sihanoukville’s Kaibo compound on August 6, 2022. Shown these photos, Bao confirmed he was held in these compounds. (Michael Dickison/VOD)

Behind a Slave Rescue From a Cambodian Scam Operation

Aug 26, 9:57 am

A Vietnamese family took out loans against their family home to help their son escape enslavement in Cambodia. They scrambled to organize a cross-border rescue from a scam syndicate accused of torture and trafficking, asking VOD for assistance.

The two images on the left show the Long Bay Duty Free Shop and Long Bay Casino Hotel from posts on Zheng Heng Group's website, while the image to the right is a screenshot of the same buildings. (Supplied)

Rescue Reveals Scam Compound at Koh Kong’s UDG

Aug 24, 3:12 pm

A Taiwanese man came to Cambodia to try to get his stepson out of forced labor in Koh Kong’s Union Development Group concession, but complications arose after the father reported the case to local authorities.

Scammed: Duped, Then Ridiculed, Victims in Thailand Left Helpless

Aug 1, 2:10 pm

Fake callers impersonating police and others in positions of authority are cheating Thais out of their life savings. But the victims often receive little sympathy, and are instead ridiculed for falling for the scams, many of which operate out of Cambodia.

Underground Group Chat Teems With Human Trafficking Ads

Jul 19, 11:12 am

Every day, posters come to the “White Shark Channel” to plug their services or seek those of others. People smugglers, bounty hunters and even scammers looking for new jobs in the industry are networking in the Telegram group.

White-Hat Hacker Infiltrates Cambodian Scam Operations

Jul 7, 9:40 am

A notorious Vietnamese ex-hacker infiltrated Cambodian scam operations’ computers after entrapped workers reached out for help. He collected thousands of internal chat messages and documented the workings of their fake online investment schemes.

The barbed wire fence surrounding a building complex, called "Jincai" by one worker, where workers are allegedly detained to perpetuate scams, on May 30, 2022. (Danielle Keeton-Olsen/VOD)

‘How to Help Them?’ Volunteer Stonewalled in Scam Worker Rescues

Jun 20, 3:53 pm

Seeking the rescue of 11 men allegedly entrapped at scam operations, a volunteer visited three commune police stations, Sihanoukville city and provincial authorities, and sent messages to officials and a police hotline. None were released, and two groups faced consequences.

The WO Casino compound in Kampot’s Kampong Trach district, on May 19, 2022. (Mech Dara/VOD)

A Friend’s Journey Attempting Rescue From Alleged Slave Compound

May 24, 3:49 pm

Reporters followed the case of a 22-year-old from his call for help — in which he alleged he was trapped and electrocuted at a Kampot scam compound — to the efforts of a friend of his to get him out.

A district guard stands in front of Jin Gang compound, where an operation involving Vietnamese nationals unfolded, in Sihanoukville's Buon commune on April 29, 2022. (Mech Dara/VOD)

Behind Closed Gates: 200 Vietnamese Quietly Removed From S’ville Compound

May 4, 2:53 pm

Cambodian authorities were tight-lipped over a raid in a Sihanoukville compound, but it was busy with police work and people gathered in its courtyard last week. Videos emerging amid the operation suggested Vietnamese nationals were waiting for rescue.

A satellite map of Sihanoukville's four communes. (Danielle Keeton-Olsen/VOD)

Crimes in Shadows: Sihanoukville’s Grisly Reports, Pressure on Journalists

Mar 11, 11:07 am

Murders, kidnappings, corpses on the beach — news reports out of Sihanoukville paint a picture of violent and serious crime in the coastal city. But authorities are increasingly shutting down information about police work and pressuring journalists over negative stories, crime reporters say.

Returned Thai nationals go through Covid-19 screening procedures at the Poipet border after being released from a Pursat province special economic zone on November 24, 2021. (Royal Thai Police)

Thai Police on Scam Networks in Cambodia, ‘Challenging’ Investigations

Feb 28, 3:20 pm

Thai police officials spoke to VOD about the rising number of Thai nationals lured by scam operations in Cambodia and provided insight into their efforts to rescue victims and the abuses perpetrated by these companies.

Authorities examine a corpse found near Sihanoukville’s ‘Chinatown’ compound in June 2021. (Courtesy of SNTV Breaking News)

Victims Allege Sihanoukville Precincts With Ties to Major Businesses Are Sites of Scams, Torture, Detention

Feb 18, 7:24 am

A web of powerful interests surrounds sites of trafficking and forced labor in Sihanoukville: Its notorious “Chinatown” area is dotted with businesses linked to prominent tycoons and high-ranking officials; another heavily guarded compound is owned by a ruling-party senator.

The Chinese national, who had his blood harvested since last August, receives treatment at a Phnom Penh hospital. (Supplied)

Trafficking Victim Alleges His Blood Was Harvested in Sihanoukville

Feb 17, 10:36 am

A Chinese national, who was trafficked to Cambodia, alleges that his blood was harvested seven times since last August, after he refused to partake in scam operations, leaving him frail and putting his health at serious risk.

Lured With Promise of Jobs, Thai Nationals Detained, Sold to Scam Operations in Cambodia

Dec 28, 10:48 am

As accusations of forced labor and confinement at scam operations across Cambodia come to the fore, two Thai nationals spoke to VOD about how they were detained and duped into scamming other people at sites in Poipet and Sihanoukville.

From Timber to Human Trafficking: Rescued Victims Allege Major Scam Operations in Tycoon’s SEZ

Nov 17, 9:12 pm

A remote, city-like compound owned by U.S.-blacklisted tycoon Try Pheap is housing online scam operations of thousands of workers rife with forced labor, detention and unexplained deaths, trafficking victims and rescuers allege.

A street in Sihanoukville on January 21, 2021. (Tran Techseng/VOD)

‘We Were Too Naive’: Chinese Teenagers Plead for Rescue From Sihanoukville

Nov 12, 6:45 pm

Chinese nationals, as young as 15 years old, are being trafficked and forced to work in online gambling and scam companies in Sihanoukville, according to pleas for help sent to a group of Chinese volunteers that rescues victims of human trafficking in Cambodia.

Enslaved: An Investigation

Enslaved

Workers trapped in Cambodian human-trafficking hubs are forced to perpetrate massive global scams

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