SA Outraged by News of How Nearly 200 Mzansi People Were Lured into a Trafficking Ring In Asia

SA Outraged by News of How Nearly 200 Mzansi People Were Lured into a Trafficking Ring In Asia

  • The high rate of unemployment in South Africa has become a large contributing factor in the luring of nearly 200 people to Asia
  • The people of Mzansi fell victim to a human trafficking scheme after being promised high-paying jobs in Thailand
  • A TikTokker highlighted the alarming news, which stunned many online users who shared their outrage

A famous South African TikTokker, @coolstorybru_, was stunned by how little coverage the 200 people from Mzansi who were trapped in Thailand received.

Human trafficking incident alarms SA
SA was outraged to hear about the 200 people who were lured into a human trafficking ring in Asia. Image: @FarukUlay
Source: Getty Images

He broke the news on Monday and received considerable attention. Many people were outraged and expressed their concerns in a thread of 2.5K comments.

Nearly 200 people were lured by the promise of well-paying jobs in Thailand, advertised through social media. The qualifying individuals were given a one-way ticket to Thailand before they were trafficked to Myanmar and forced to work in illegal online scamming compounds.

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Nearly 200 South Africans trapped in Thailand after job scam

In March, the South African government discovered that nearly 200 people had been lured into a human trafficking ring in South Asia. The individuals were promised high-paying jobs, targeting young people who were fluent in English, computer literate, and had marketing or IT qualifications.

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They were promised free accommodation, all-inclusive travel expenses, and other lucrative benefits. After the victims landed in Thailand, they were trafficked to Myanmar and forced to work in illegal online scamming compounds.

They experienced brutal treatment, which included physical torture, forced labour, and working 16 hours a day. The victims engaged in illicit activities, including online scams that targeted individuals worldwide.

They were punished for their rebellion and survived on spoiled food and contaminated water without access to medical treatment. The South African government was presented with a R50K ransom deal in exchange for the captives’ release.

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Only a group of 26 people out of the hundreds of South Africans have returned safely to the country. The rest of the victims remain in Southeast Asia as they cannot afford to purchase plane tickets.

People online were outraged by the news and expressed themselves online. A famous TikTokker, @coolstorybru_, helped many people online digest the alarming information.

The unemployment rate in South Africa is disappointingly high, with 33.2% of the population having no jobs, while the youth unemployment rate stands at 46.1%.

Watch the TikTok video below:

SA alarmed by human trafficking ring targeting young people

Social media users were outraged by the news and shared their thoughts online:

South Africans rescued from human traffickers
Nearly 200 people were rescued from a human trafficking ring in Asia. Image: @PeoplImages
Source: Getty Images

@Zee_ntle commented:

“You're better than SABC news.”

@August192325 said:

“South African media is also captured because why are we only hearing about this now?”

@Pru Mambatha shared:

“I'm starting to think unemployment is a scheme that's been set up.”

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@Bridgeman suggested:

“Politicians are involved here, I just can’t prove it yet.”

@YT & IG: Wandee’s Thoughts wrote:

“They’re taking advantage of our youth unemployment. I hate it so much.”

@krugerfx_champ announced:

“I’m one of the survivors.”

@mulalo ramakonye was disappointed:

“Funny how there's no money to bring them back home, but there are millions for the president and his government to stand in front of us just to tell us that we should ask ourselves why bad things are happening in our country. Southa!!”

@Roshann commented:

“I was almost a victim. Thank God for my guardian angels.”

3 More kidnapping stories by Briefly News

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Chuma Nontsele avatar

Chuma Nontsele (Human Interest Editor) Chuma Nontsele is a human interest journalist for Briefly News (joined in 2024). Nontsele holds a Diploma in Journalism and started her career working at Daily Maverick as a news reporter. Later, she ventured into lifestyle and entertainment. Chuma has 3 years of experience as a journalist. You can reach her at chuma.nontsele@briefly.co.za