Police bust human trafficking group, 12 arrested

In a joint operation, Chinese and Thai police have arrested 12 suspects involved with a cross-border human trafficking group based in Myawaddy, Myanmar, and are searching for other suspects involved in the case, the Ministry of Public Security said on Friday.

Since December, the criminal group had been posting a large number of fake notices in WeChat groups to "recruit" actors, models and crew members, the ministry said in a news release.

The group deceived victims into traveling to Thailand by means such as booking flight tickets and hotels for them, and, after they arrived in Thailand, transferred them to Myawaddy and sold them to telecom fraud outfits.

The group is involved in a number of cases of Chinese citizens missing or illegally held against their will overseas, which were exposed online recently, according to the ministry.

The ministry disclosed a case in which an actor, who was only identified by his or her surname Wang, was deceived into traveling to Thailand. Wang came across a notice about a filmmaking project in Bangkok in a WeChat group on Dec 29, and followed the WeChat account of an "assistant director" to arrange a trip to Bangkok and join in the project.

Wang arrived at the airport in Bangkok on the early morning of Jan 3, before being picked up by a vehicle sent by the "assistant director". The vehicle took Wang across the Thailand-Myanmar border and into "Apollo Park" in Myawaddy. Wang was later sold to other telecom fraud gangs.

The ministry confirmed the successful rescue of Wang and several other victims, and said it will continue to crack down on cross-border telecom and cyberspace fraud.

It said it will strengthen international law enforcement cooperation to dismantle overseas fraud dens, hunt down financial supporters and key members of fraud organizations, and spare no effort to rescue people tricked into working for such criminal organizations.

The ministry reiterated its call for the general public to heighten vigilance against fraudulent schemes such as fake high-paying job offers from overseas, as well as fake invitations for overseas business trips or free travel, in order to avoid being illegally confined and forced to participate in telecom fraud and other crimes.

Also on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the Chinese government is firmly determined to combat telecom and cyberspace fraud, and has always asked Chinese citizens overseas to abide by local laws and regulations and refrain from engaging in illegal activities. China will continue to direct its embassies and consulates to handle related cases properly.