More than 1,000 arrested in Cambodian cyber-scam raids
The suspects were arrested in raids in at least five provinces between Monday and Wednesday, according to statements from Information Minister Neth Pheaktra and police.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet issued a directive made public on Tuesday, telling law enforcement and the military 'to prevent and crack down on online scams', warning they risk losing their jobs if they fail to take action.
Since the pandemic, Cambodia has been plagued by the rapid spread of cyber-scam operations – many of them run by Chinese organised crime groups. Inside compounds ranging from individual flats to sprawling, multibuilding affairs, an international army of scammers is forced to run global romance and business cons that have bilked unwitting victims out of billions of dollars.
Most of those employed are lured in with promises of good jobs, only to face torture or even death if they try and escape. The UN estimates that more than 100,000 people are enslaved in Cambodia alone, part of a wider landscape in Southeast Asia responsible for an estimated $40bn stolen annually.
Those detained included more than 200 Vietnamese, 27 Chinese, and 75 suspects from Taiwan and 85 Cambodians in the capital Phnom Penh and the southern city of Sihanoukville. Police also seized equipment, including computers and hundreds of mobile phones.
At least 270 Indonesians, including 45 women, were arrested Wednesday in Poipet, a town on the border with Thailand notorious for cyber-scam and gambling operations, the minister said. Elsewhere, police in the northeastern province of Kratie arrested 312 people, including nationals of Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam, while 27 people from Vietnam, China and Myanmar were arrested in the western province of Pursat.
While the crackdown is the latest in a series of mass arrests, many critics have accused the government of doing too little to prevent their spread, alleging corruption and insider dealing. The US government in September imposed sanctions on tycoon Ly Yong Phat, a close associate of the prime minister and his family, over allegations of forced labour and cyber-scams.
Last month, Amnesty International released a report accusing the Cambodian government of 'deliberately ignoring a litany of human rights abuses including slavery, human trafficking, child labour and torture being carried out by criminal gangs on a vast scale in more than 50 scamming compounds located across the country'.
The government has routinely denied such claims, saying they are doing what they can.
Cambodia's latest crackdown comes in the middle of a bitter feud with neighboring Thailand, which began with a brief armed skirmish in late May over border territory claimed by both nations and has now led to border closures and nearly daily exchanges of nationalistic insults. Friendly former leaders of both countries have become estranged and there have been heated debates about which nation's cultural heritage has influenced the other.
Measures initiated by the Thai side, including cutting off cross-border electricity supplies and closing crossing points, have particularly heightened tensions, with Cambodia claiming it was retaliation for its intention to pursue its territorial claims. Thailand said its original intention was to combat long-running cyber-scam operations in Poipet.
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Kigali and Kampala share overlapping interests in the DRC – chiefly concerning security, political influence, and economic access – but these interests also place them in a complex relationship of both cooperation and competition, he said. Titeca argues that the resurgence and rapid expansion of M23 was, in part, triggered by Kigali's fear that Kampala might encroach on its influence in eastern DRC after Uganda allowed its soldiers to enter DRC in pursuit of the ADF. As M23 gained ground towards the end of 2024, Uganda reacted with troop deployments, particularly aimed at preventing the rebels – and by extension, Rwanda – from entering areas it sees as its sphere of interest. Titeca says the military manoeuvres were as much a strategic message to Rwanda as they were about protecting Ugandan interests. Drawing from movements and postures observed since late 2024, Titeca suggests that Kigali and Kampala may have an implicit understanding of their respective zones of influence. 'Some people think there might be some agreement between Kampala and Kigali on their area of interest,' he said. In eastern DRC, 'they are friends and also enemies at the same time,' he added, referring to Uganda and Rwanda. Kinshasa's violations For the UN experts, Kinshasa bears some responsibility, too. On the Congolese side, the report paints a picture of a state under siege, struggling to maintain sovereignty over its eastern territories. The government continued to rely heavily on irregular Wazalendo groups, and on the FDLR, despite the latter being under UN sanctions, as proxies in its fight against M23 and the Rwandan army. While strategic, the report says, this alliance has worsened the security and human rights situation, contributing to reprisal attacks, child recruitment and sexual violence. As it called out M23's actions during the taking of Goma and Bukavu, the report also documented a pattern of grave international humanitarian law and rights violations – including looting, sexual violence, and killings – by retreating Congolese soldiers and Wazalendo fighters at the same time. 'These abuses occurred in a climate of impunity, in the general context of a weakening chain of command,' it said. Al Jazeera sought a response to these claims from the Congolese government, but received no reply. In dismissing the report, the Rwandan president accused the panel of perpetuating a biased narrative against Kigali and of ignoring Congolese government complicity with the FDLR, which he says continues to spread anti-Tutsi views that led to the 1994 genocide. 'All the reports, 75 percent of them, blame AFC/M23 and Rwanda,' Kagame said at the July 4 news conference. 'You will find they never write anything comprehensive about FDLR or how Congolese institutions spread hate and genocide ideology. How can experts not see that?' Speaking to Al Jazeera, Rwandan analyst Thierry Gatete echoed Kagame's criticisms, questioning the credibility of the UN panel and alleging that they rarely conduct field research. 'They sit in New York or Paris and rely on testimonies from Congolese officials or FDLR sympathisers,' he said. The report notes that Rwanda denied the group of experts access to Kigali. However, Gatete says Rwanda initially cooperated with the panel but later gave up because the reports were consistently biased and, in his view, inconsequential. 'Nobody takes what they write seriously,' he said. While Rwanda and Uganda view the UN reports as biased, others see them as essential tools for accountability. Stewart Muhindo, a researcher with Congolese civil society group LUCHA, said the panel provides critical evidence that challenges both state and non-state actors. 'The panel tells hard truths,' he noted, pointing out that the report also criticises the DRC government for its continued collaboration with the FDLR, despite promises to end the alliance. 'It's not just about blaming Rwanda.' Muhindo also agrees with UN experts that the DRC's reliance on Wazalendo fighters has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis. These irregular forces, though not sanctioned like the FDLR, have been implicated in atrocities, including attacks on civilians and the recruitment of child soldiers, he said. 'Despite ongoing peacemaking initiatives, efforts to stabilise the region continue to face significant challenges,' the UN experts said in the report. 'Civilians bore the brunt of the conflict, enduring widespread displacement, insecurity, and grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.'
