Kathmandu. Recently, a large number of Nepali citizens have been held hostage by organized criminal groups running online fraud and scamming centers in the border areas of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar and Cambodia. It has been seen that Nepalis who have computer knowledge and have experience of foreign employment in countries such as UAE and Malaysia are lured to such fraud centers by showing attractive salary jobs.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the total number of Nepali victims rescued from such scamming centers by the Nepali embassies in Thailand and Myanmar on various dates from 2022 to date with the support and coordination of the governments of the countries where the embassies are located is 392. Similarly, 309 Nepali citizens are currently in the process of rescue.

Similarly, the court of Myanmar has sentenced 18 Nepalis to one year of imprisonment for illegal entry. In this regard, the Nepalese ambassador in Yangon, Harishchandra Ghimire, met and discussed with Myanmar government officials, according to the ministry.

Similarly, the Ministry has stated that the estimated number of Nepalis who need to be rescued in the scam centers of these countries may be thousands.