As a global organization operating in multiple countries, we are uniquely positioned to respond to cases that cross international borders. When our team in Brazil heard about three citizens trafficked from Brazil to Laos, we knew that this would be one of those cases.
After receiving the tip from federal police, our team in Brazil immediately coordinated with our team in Thailand, which borders Laos. Together, they gathered details about the two men and the woman from Brazil. They had traveled to Laos in response to seemingly legitimate job offers. However, when they arrived, an abusive Chinese crime syndicate took them to a locked call center. They lived and worked in a compound of buildings clustered beside the Mekong River, where security guards prevented residents from leaving — often by using violent force.
Alongside hundreds of other trafficked workers, the Brazilians were forced to make spam calls that targeted potential victims for fraudulent cryptocurrency exchanges. The laborers lived in constant fear of physical and psychological abuse if they did not comply.
Working closely with Interpol and the Brazilian Embassy in Thailand, our teams supported the process of gathering evidence and planning a raid.
When authorities arrived at the site of the scamming call center in Laos, they arrested 280 traffickers who were complicit in the scheme. As additional evidence, they seized 1,345 mobile phones used for scamming. The traffickers are facing justice of up to 18 years in prison.
Officials also freed hundreds of survivors, all of whom had been lured from their home countries with the promise of stable work. The three Brazilian survivors were among those set free to return home and begin rebuilding their lives. Their stories of entrapment sparked an international collaboration.
Extensive news coverage marked the landmark case as an example of the power of cross-cultural, cross-sector collaboration in combatting human trafficking crime. Because of the efforts of so many partners, including every supporter of The Exodus Road, this cyber-scamming compound is no longer operational.
Our teams will continue to support governmental agencies in pursuit of justice for the countless scamming compounds still operating — until all are free.
