The Kenya Embassy in Bangkok has raised concern about Kenyans being duped into applying for fake jobs purported to be in Thailand.
In a statement sent to newsrooms on Friday, August 16, the embassy said it is frustrated with the number of Kenyans who are falling victim to human traffickers in Myanmar and Lao PDR who are behind the fake jobs.
The embassy noted that extracting people from the scam factories inside Myanmar and Lao PDR is dangerous due to the ongoing civil war.
“The Kenya Embassy in Bangkok is increasingly getting concerned and frustrated with Kenyans who continue to fall victim to human traffickers in Myanmar and Lao PDR, only to call the Embassy for help upon realizing that they had been duped into applying for fake jobs purported to be in Thailand,” read the statement in part.
The embassy noted that it is currently looking for 3 missing Kenyans in Myanmar and has rescued over 140 Kenyans when the first cases of Kenyans trafficked to Myanmar and Lao PDR surfaced.
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The Kenya Embassy in Bangkok pointed out that Kenyans stream into Myanmar, mainly through Thailand despite warnings through various media channels.
“Even more frustrating is the fact that some of the Kenyans working in the scam compounds in Myanmar have become trafficking agents, on behalf of the criminal cartels. The agents, some of whom are Kenyans receive a lot of money from unsuspecting Kenyans as much as Ksh.300,000 to get a visa at the Thai Embassy in Nairobi and pay for air tickets.
"However, in many of the cases, the return portion of the air ticket is invalidated as soon as the victim arrives in Thailand, while the hotel reservation is fake,” the embassy stated.
According to the embassy, most victims are duped with fake job adverts in Thailand, especially customer care, front office, cryptocurrency, and teaching jobs.
The embassy also highlighted the rise in human trafficking for prostitution with young girls from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda who are auctioned online by fellow East Africans to the highest bidder.
