22 Kenyans rescued from human traffickers in Laos

Kenyan authorities on Friday warned against applying for online jobs in South East Asian countries after it emerged hundreds of East Africans are falling victim to trafficking.

The caution came as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had rescued 22 Kenyans, a Burundian and Ugandan, who had managed to raise distress calls from Laos.

The rescued victims told authorities that hundreds more were still inside the Asian country, having been duped to go for hospitality and teaching jobs only to end up trapped.

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“The government in liaison with the Government of Laos and IOM (International Organization for Migration) has rescued 24 nationals, among them a Ugandan and a Burundian, from trafficking cartels in Laos as more, still trapped in Myanmar and Laos, call for help,” the Ministry said on Friday.

Earlier, 13 other Kenyans were rescued from traffickers in Myanmar.

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“It is now emerging that there could be hundreds of mostly young Kenyans working in 'Fraud Factories' in South East Asia.

“More worrying is intelligence information that some of the factories may be facilities for extracting and storing human organs.”