On December 10, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, with the assistance of the country's Embassy in Malaysia and the Honorary Consulate in Thailand, organized the evacuation of a citizen who was on the territory of Myanmar.
According to preliminary data, the Kyrgyz citizen fell victim to labor migration fraudsters and was illegally held in a military camp in Myanmar after believing deceptive promises of high earnings.
Throughout 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs successfully returned 12 citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic from Myanmar. In light of these events, law enforcement agencies in Kyrgyzstan have begun working to close illegal migration channels and combat fraud.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic expresses gratitude to the competent authorities of Myanmar and Thailand, as well as to the Embassy of Kazakhstan and the Consulate General of Uzbekistan in Bangkok for their assistance in organizing the safe return of the citizen to her homeland.
In connection with the increasing cases of Kyrgyz citizens being involved in human trafficking schemes in Southeast Asian countries, the ministry strongly urges citizens to be extremely vigilant and cautious when seeking employment abroad, especially through unofficial channels.
If anyone has doubts or questions, it is recommended to immediately contact the diplomatic missions and consulates of the Kyrgyz Republic for consultation and support, as stated in the Ministry's message.
It was previously reported that citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan were freed from slavery in Myanmar.
According to Kun.uz, these individuals initially planned to find employment in Thailand.
Some citizens of Uzbekistan responded to advertisements for high-paying jobs and were transported to Thailand on free buses. However, upon arrival, they were deceitfully smuggled into Myanmar, where they fell into the hands of human traffickers.
“According to the victims, they were forced to work in fraudulent call centers. Those who refused to participate in illegal activities were threatened and subjected to physical violence,” reports Kun.uz.
Some managed to contact the Consulate General of Uzbekistan in Bangkok, which helped to ascertain that citizens of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were being held in Myanmar. The release of all three countries' citizens became possible due to the cooperation of the diplomatic agencies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with the authorities of Thailand and Myanmar, and now everyone has returned home.
Myanmar, engulfed in civil war, has become one of the largest centers of digital crime in the world. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of people who responded to advertisements for high salaries have been kidnapped and forced to work in fraudulent call centers.
These criminal schemes are rapidly growing along the border with Thailand, bringing their organizers billions of dollars annually.
Foreigners are attracted through social media with job offers in Thai companies in fields such as IT, logistics, hospitality, education, and digital marketing.
Advertisements usually contain limited details about the job and working conditions, and the offered salaries are often above average. Checking such companies online can create an illusion of legitimacy.
Job seekers are provided with tickets to Bangkok, sometimes even obtaining a visa or promising reimbursement of its cost upon arrival.
From the airport, they are taken to Mae Sot, a city in northwestern Thailand, from where they are smuggled into Myanmar across the Moei River. The fraudulent complexes are visible from the shore, guarded by antennas that interfere with GPS signals.
On-site, disoriented victims have their passports and mobile phones taken away, and then they are given instructions on fraudulent schemes. The most common of these are “pig butchering” and various “romantic” scams. The goal is to establish trust with potential victims and convince them to invest in fictitious cryptocurrency projects. In their actions, fraudsters use generative AI technologies and stolen data for authentication.
According to UNODC data, “pig butchering” schemes generate more revenue than drug trafficking. For example, the KK Park complex generates tens of millions of dollars per month.
The analytical company Chainalysis noted in September 2024 a shift in the focus of criminals from Ponzi schemes to “pig butchering.” In 2023, $4.4 billion of the total $5.6 billion in cryptocurrency fraud losses was attributed to this type of scam. Experts established a connection between one of the largest cryptocurrency wallets associated with this scheme and the KK Park complex.
Cryptocurrencies serve as the primary tool for payments and transactions in these operations. Some workers specialize in meme coins, managing branded accounts and bots. The minimal investments required to start and the ability to execute a rug pull at any moment make “funny coins” an ideal way for criminal earnings.
Other types of cyberattacks include real estate fraud, online store scams, hacking of financial services, and other potentially profitable targets.
The primary targets of scammers are often residents of Western countries: work takes place at night, for 17–18 hours a day. Each has a set profit quota: one former employee was assigned $5,000 a week, another $10,000 a month.
If quotas are not met or if someone refuses to work, the management of the centers applies physical punishment, including torture and complete isolation. Defiant victims may be resold to other fraudulent complexes.
Most of these centers do not accept ransom, however, in some cases, prices vary: KK Park — $1,500–3,000, Apollo — $4,000–6,000. However, even paying these amounts does not guarantee release.
According to human rights defenders, each complex has a managing director, most often ethnic Chinese, but there are also joint Thai enterprises. Each facility is rented by 30 to 40 different companies, each with its own hierarchy: bosses, supervisors, team leads, and smaller teams. The total number of people can range from 50 to 250.
Victims of such crimes include residents of Southeast Asia (China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and others), Africa (mainly Kenya and Nigeria), and there have been increasing cases of involvement of citizens from Western and, less frequently, post-Soviet countries.
