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Indonesia, March 2026 — 79 Indonesian women and men returned home after being freed from online scam operations in Myanmar thanks to cross-border collaboration supported by IJM.
In a major operation supported by IJM, the Indonesian Government, alongside the governments of Thailand and Myanmar, successfully repatriated 79 Indonesian citizens who had been trafficked and forced to work in online scam operations in Myanmar. The group returned to Indonesia via Thailand in the early hours of the morning.
“This repatriation demonstrates the importance of strong cross-border cooperation in responding to forced scamming and human trafficking,” shares Try Harysantoso, Executive Director of IJM Indonesia.
The survivors explained that they were recruited with false promises of legitimate jobs, only to be coerced into conducting online scams under threats, intimidation, and exploitative conditions.
Once brought to safety, they were taken to safe houses and trauma‑informed care centres. All 79 individuals have expressed their willingness to provide testimonies to law enforcement.
Now that these survivors are safely home, IJM Indonesia is coordinating with local partners to ensure they have ongoing access to psychosocial support, legal assistance, and long‑term reintegration services.
As traffickers continue to adapt by using modern technologies to exploit people – as seen in the rise of forced scamming – we continue to call on all governments to intensify investigations into the transnational criminal networks behind these crimes.
IJM is working alongside government agencies to strengthen survivor identification, support survivor care, and assist law enforcement in building strong cases against traffickers.
*Faces hidden to protect identities.
