KATHMANDU:- Seventy-two Nepali citizens who illegally reached the United States and Myanmar under the lure of employment have returned to Nepal. Krishna Prasad Pangeni, head of the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, informed that 35 people have been returned from the US. He said, “One of them is a student and one is on a tourist visa. It has been found that they were returned because the student’s visa was cancelled and the tourist’s visa expired but they worked there.”

He informed that another 33 people were lured to the US by human traffickers under the lure of employment. It has been found that they were illegally brought to the US by human traffickers through low-level routes. Pangeni said that some of those who went in this way were found to have paid up to Rs. 10 million. Most of those who returned in this way are from Karnali, Sudurpaschim and Lumbini provinces.

The US government has been strictly enforcing immigration policy and returning those who have arrived illegally to their respective countries since last year. In the same vein, the process of returning those who arrived from Nepal immediately and two years ago is also continuing. None of those who returned on Thursday have submitted any kind of application to the bureau.  Chief Pangeni said that information on how they arrived was collected and that if they felt cheated, they were sent a reminder to file a case against the person who took them.

Similarly, 37 Nepali citizens who were lured to Myanmar through various means and forced to work illegally under the lure of lucrative employment have arrived in Nepal after being rescued. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that, at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nepali citizens who were forced to work in illegally operated online scamming centers in Myanmar have been rescued and repatriated.

The Nepali Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, has stated that Nepalis have been found to be involved in various activities such as online dating, online casinos, gaming, phishing, and bribery at these centers.

According to the embassy, ​​29 Nepali citizens who arrived illegally are still stranded. 23 are stranded in Myawaddy, Myanmar, two in Mae Sot, Thailand, and four in Cambodia. The embassy has stated that coordination is being done with the government agencies of the respective countries to repatriate them.