• Defence Min. says Lankans recruited via misleading online ads.  

Another 11 Sri Lankans have been trafficked to Myanmar to work at cybercrime centres, according to the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry stated that it has received information on 11 Sri Lankans who have ended up in cybercrime centres in Myanmar during the past several weeks.

Meanwhile, the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF), has issued a public warning in light of alarming information on a new trend wave of human trafficking activities targeting Sri Lankan nationals. 

Reportedly, organised trafficking syndicates operating cyber scam centres, in South East (SE) Asia, have launched a large-scale recruitment drive. Information suggests that these networks are attempting to lure and transport over 50,000 individuals to these scam compounds, from all countries and Sri Lankans are among the primary targets, the Ministry stated. 

As per the information received, five new scam centres are reportedly being set up in remote areas. Drawing on recent information and established patterns of exploitation, traffickers are using misleading online advertisements and fraudulent job offers to attract job seekers. These operations remain highly active, with several Sri Lankans confirmed to have been trafficked to these locations in the past few weeks. 

In addition to above, the NAHTTF noted that several victims had been attracted and initially recruited to these scam centers while working in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Further, the rest of the Sri Lankans among them have been directly recruited from Sri Lanka by publishing fake job advertisements on social media platforms.

Therefore, the NAHTTF has urged the general public to exercise of extreme vigilance when responding to online job advertisement in South East Asia, especially in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, and to follow the legitimate procedures to go safely abroad for employment purposes though registration with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.