Scam Base on Thai-Cambodia Border Linked to Organ Trafficking

Chong Chom, Thailand, Sept. 8 (Jiji Press)–Illegal organ trafficking may have been conducted at a scam compound on the Thai border with Cambodia, the Thai military has revealed. The military believes that scam phone callers and other members of the fraud ring were pushed to provide their organs as punishment for not meeting their scam quotas. On Monday, members of the media and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Observer Team were allowed access to the scam compound that was seized by the Thai military in December last year amid escalating armed conflicts on the Thai-Cambodia border. The base is located in the Chong Chom area in Surin province in northeastern Thailand that borders Oddar Meanchey province in northern Cambodia. According to the military, documents seized from the base said that the scam group members could be useful in other ways if they fail to achieve their scam quotas. A military official revealed that the word, “organ trafficking,” was also found in the documents. A three-story building within the compound had a room with an operating table and surgical equipment, likely used to remove organs and for other purposes. There also were solitary confinement cells with traces of where surveillance cameras had once been set up. Amid its military clashes with Cambodia, the Thai military captured fleeing Vietnamese and Chinese nationals, including those covered with wounds and others whose fingers had been cut off. A Thai military soldier serving as a guide said that the group had trapped victims of human trafficking and forced them to commit fraud. If the victims failed to achieve their goals, they were punished, according to the guide. They were also likely forced into organ trafficking if they could not pay off debts that were imposed on them by the group, the guide said. The facility also showed signs that tests for syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases had been conducted frequently. A brothel for scam group members was also set up at the compound, with a room equipped with an examination table and a medical report on an abortion left behind at the base. The base was originally built as a hotel resort. The facility was likely converted into a scam compound amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Comprising over 150 buildings, including homes, the compound covers about 810,000 square meters. About 15,000 members were engaged in scams at the base, with signs that Japanese individuals were also involved. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]