Four human trafficking rings have been found operating across Vietnam after dozens of Vietnamese escaped from a casino in Cambodia where they had been duped into working and exploited.
Col. Dinh Van Noi, director of An Giang province’s police department in Vietnam, said on Aug. 23 that trafficking rings operating “in many localities” have accomplices in Cambodia to lure Vietnamese into illegally working in casinos.
A group of 42 escaped from the Golden Phoenix Entertainment casino in Cambodia’s Kandal province on Aug. 18 and swam across the Binh Di river separating the two nations. Five of them are women.
Police in Vietnam detained Nguyen Thi Le and Le Vand Danh for their roles in smuggling individuals to Cambodia. The casino’s manager, a Chinese national, was also arrested on allegations of forced labor.
‘Hellish’ Casino
Workers fleeing the casino told police that they had been lured by job listings offering high salaries, but after arriving in Cambodia, they were forced to work illegally in several casinos without rest or pay.“We were tricked and sold to Cambodia,” she told the news outlet.
She claimed that her captors forced her to scam people into investing money in dating games and threatened her with electrocution if she didn’t earn VND 300 million ($12,813) monthly from the scams.
Another victim, Pham Nguyen Anh Tuan, said that he was sold to three casinos after failing to earn money in the initial months. He devised an escape plan after witnessing other Vietnamese being abused.
Pham claimed that the Chinese manager wanted to sell a sick worker who was unable to earn money for the casino. They pleaded for his release and even offered to repay his debt, but their pleas were rejected.
“Besides the one who went missing and the other who was caught, we are very worried for the people who helped us escape,” he said.
The Vietnamese government has sought Cambodia’s help with the investigation.
