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NEWS: Asian criminal groups establishing cyber-scam compounds in Europe, warns UN

Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar, stuck in limbo at a compound inside the KK Park, a fraud factory, and a human trafficking hub on the border with Thailand-Myanmar after a multinational crackdown on the compounds run by criminal gangs, operated by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) in Myawaddy, Myanmar, February 26, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

By Paul O’Donoghue and Poppy Mcpherson

ASIAN crime syndicates behind the multibillion-dollar cyberscam industry have established operations in Europe, the United Nations (UN) has warned.

Criminal networks that emerged in Southeast Asia in recent years, opening sprawling compounds housing tens of thousands of workers, many trafficked and forced to scam victims around the world, have evolved into a sophisticated global industry, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.

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