Police in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province issued a statement on Saturday in response to allegations from Thai media that all the rescued nine Thai nationals were forced to work illegally as call centre scammers in Poipet.
The city is a Cambodian gambling destination sitting at the crossing point between the two countries.
Cambodian officials said that they had visited a building in Poipet, where all nine Thais claimed that they had been set on fire, and tried to escape from a call centre gang.
Citing their version, Thai media had reported that the nine Thais had entered Cambodia covertly after being offered jobs at a casino, but found out that they were actually working for a call centre gang at the building.
Following the raid, police reported finding 17 Thai people — 10 women and seven men. They were later taken to the city’s police station for further investigation.
Cambodian police said the nine Thais got into a brawl before setting fire to a room within the building, and resorted to violence against the staff members who tried to calm things down.
