BANGKOK:-  Sixteen Nepalis who were stranded in Cambodia after being lured by human traffickers have been rescued and returned to Nepal.

They were repatriated on Thursday with the initiative of the Nepali Embassy in Thailand, the support of the Cambodian government, and the facilitation of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) Cambodia. According to the embassy, ​​they were brought to Cambodia through various means and used for illegal work in illegally operated online scamming centers and casinos.

In addition, some of them were staying there without visas. The embassy said that efforts are ongoing to rescue other Nepalis still in difficult circumstances there.

The embassy has urged Nepalis who have overstayed their visas in Cambodia or are forced into illegal work to contact them immediately.

The embassy has requested that representatives of the Embassy in Bangkok or NRNA Cambodia (Shivraj Parajuli: +855 12 215 578), Lal Singh Khadka: +855 93 203 666, and Ramji Shreekumar Chhetri: +855 96 346 5788) be contacted for assistance in the rescue and return to Nepal.

Following the increasing complaints of employers (scamming centers) confiscating workers’ passports or losing them during transfers, the embassy has made easy arrangements for rescue. In such cases, the Nepali Embassy in Bangkok has made arrangements to send a free ‘one-way travel permit’ to the address provided by the victim to return to Nepal.

Meanwhile, the embassy has warned the public not to fall prey to human traffickers in the lure of making a quick and big buck.