Not less than 22 Kenyans seeking to migrate to Asian countries were rescued by the police in the tiny Asian country of Laos from human traffickers who held them captives for several weeks while demanding for ransom.
The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Friday, warned its citizens against applying for online jobs in South East Asian countries after it emerged hundreds of East Africans have falling victims to trafficking.
The Ministry said it was able to rescue the 22 Kenyans, a Burundian and a Ugandan who had managed to raise distress calls from Laos.
The rescued victims, according to officials of the Ministry, said that hundreds more were still inside the Asian country, having been deceived into hospitality and teaching jobs only to end up trapped.
“The government in liaison with the Government of Laos and IOM (International Organisation for Migration) has rescued 24 nationals, among them a Ugandan and a Burundian, from trafficking cartels in Laos as more, still trapped in Myanmar and Laos, call for help,” the Ministry said in the warning statement.
“The 24 who were rescued have since been repatriated with the help of HAART Kenya, the IOM, and Laos government.
“It is now emerging that there could be hundreds of mostly young Kenyans working in ‘Fraud Factories’ in South East Asia.
“More worrying is intelligence information that some of the factories may be facilities for extracting and storing human organs,” the Ministry stated.
The human trafficking cartels, according to survivors, lure their victims with lucrative jobs by promising hefty salaries and benefits of $2,000 per month but many of them ended up as sex slaves and unwilling organ donors.
“The government warns Kenyans to stop applying for online jobs that are advertised in South East Asia without authenticating them, as this exposes them to dangers, including possibility of losing body organs,” the Ministry’s warning added.