Majority of suspected human trafficking cases linked to fraudulent operations, Foreign Ministry says

KUALA LUMPUR:About 90 percent of Malaysians reported as victims of human trafficking were not found to be real victims but rather involved in international fraud syndicates.

Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin said these facts were revealed by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) in its report on human trafficking presented at the Anti-Human Trafficking Council meeting. Human Beings and Migrant Smuggling (MAPO) on February 26.

He added that the alleged victims often held high-ranking positions within their companies and some even worked as volunteers in the countries concerned.

“This is not an employment scam, but criminals involved in fraud networks. When they face problems such as abuse from their employers or not being allowed to return home, they come forward and claim they have been cheated.

“But they are part of these job scam operations. This is the report we received from PDRM,” he said during the Special Bench session in Dewan Rakyat today.

He said this in response to a supplementary question from Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) who inquired about the government's efforts to resolve the problem of trafficking of Malaysians.

Khoo had earlier suggested monitoring Malaysians who receive job offers abroad, stepping up awareness campaigns on human trafficking issues and strengthening ASEAN cooperation to combat the problem.

Mohamad said the observations indicate a decline in the number of reports received, but acknowledged that some Malaysians are still working with these syndicates.

He explained that these syndicates recruit Malaysians through advertisements on social media such as Facebook, WeChat and WhatsApp, offering attractive incentives such as high salaries, free flights, accommodation and the freedom to gamble on credit.

“When they reach their destination, they work as con artists, running various online fraud operations including romance scams, Macau scams or running online casinos,” he said.

Mohamad said that as of June 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the PDRM and foreign authorities, had successfully rescued 659 Malaysians involved in fraudulent overseas job offer syndicates.

“There are still 187 individuals wanted, bringing the total number of Malaysians involved to 846. This figure is based on reports from relatives, family members, friends, PDRM and the individuals themselves,” he said.

Thus, he said, local media reports claiming that around 2,000 Malaysians are still trapped overseas as victims of human trafficking do not match the number of reports received by the Foreign Ministry and therefore cannot be confirmed.

Regarding cooperation within ASEAN, Mohamad said this could be further explored, particularly in terms of intelligence sharing and implementing measures to eradicate bid scam syndicates. employment, given that Malaysia will chair ASEAN next year.