On sidelines of ASEAN, EAM S Jaishankar discusses rescue of trapped Indians with Laos, Cambodia, Thailand counterparts

“During my call on the Prime Minister of Lao PDR, took up the issue of the trafficking of Indian nationals through cyber scam centres,” Jaishankar said in a post on X on Saturday, “Appreciate the ongoing cooperation of Lao PDR government in the rescue and relief of our citizens. Also discussed the matter with the Foreign Ministers of Cambodia and Thailand.”

Over 500 trapped Indian citizens have been rescued from the country so far, even as there is no official number on how many more are stuck. Last week, 13 Indians were rescued from cyber-scamming centres in Laos, as per the Indian Embassy statement.

“In our continued work to ensure the safety and well-being of Indians as top priority, the Embassy successfully rescues 13 Indians from cyber-scamming centres in Laos and ensures their safe return to India. So far, the Embassy has rescued 518 Indians. We thank Lao authorities for their cooperation,” it said.

In fact, not just Laos, the concern spans many Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar, where Indian citizens are being forced to work for gangs operating cyber scam centres.

Probing a human trafficking, cheating and criminal conspiracy angle against cybercriminals from Southeast Asian countries, the CBI has alleged in its recent FIR that an international network is involved in trafficking of Indians to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, where they are forced into cybercrimes at “Chinese control scam centres”.

An FIR was lodged after multiple rounds of meetings were held by the MHA with the Telecom Ministry, Reserve Bank of India and CBI, asking them to identify and plug loopholes in banking and telecom sectors that enable such scams.

At Vientiane, Jaishankar also held meetings with his counterparts from South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the European Union. With Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative of EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, he discussed enhancing the India-EU ties in areas of trade, clean energy transition and advanced technologies.