2 Japanese Men Rescued in Thailand over Special Fraud

Bangkok, Oct. 5 (Jiji Press)--Thai police have taken two Japanese men in their 20s into protective custody in the western province of Kanchanaburi, which borders Myanmar.

The Japanese nationals, who are believed to have been forced to join fraud at a base in Myanmar, were rescued Wednesday, according to the police. There may be some other Japanese nationals at the fraud base, informed sources said.

The two men traveled to Thailand after seeing a social media ad on a high-paying job and were then handed over to a fraud group through a broker, the police said.

At the base, they are believed to have been ordered to make scam phone calls to elderly people in Japan by pretending to be police officers. They were told they would see their relatives harmed if they refuse to follow the order, according to the police.

The two men are seen to have stayed at the fraud base for about 20 days.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]