A Kenyan man who was part of the group which was duped into travelling to Asia for a job opportunity has revealed unknown details of how they were trafficked into a nightmare scam operation across the Thai-Myanmar border. 

The 26-year-old, in an interview with The Guardian, revealed he received an offer to travel to Asia earlier in the year, prompting him to sell some of his assets with the hopes of a better life abroad. 

At the time, he had been duped into paying Ksh200,000 by a fake recruitment agency for what he believed was a customer service job. 

“I wanted to support my family,” the victim, identified as Okindo, said. “Life in Kenya was hard, and I couldn’t find a stable job despite trying.”

Upon arrival in Bangkok, things took a turn for Okindo, as he was picked up by a van alongside six other hopeful Kenyans, and their passports were confiscated. 

The 'abductors' told Thai officials that the Kenyans were tourists and, after a long drive, they were taken to a boat across a river into Myanmar. Okindo was then locked inside a walled compound guarded by armed rebels. 

The reality was that the Okindo had been trafficked into a scam centre run by a Chinese criminal gang. His new job entailed posing online as a wealthy investor and luring unsuspecting U.S. real estate agents into cryptocurrency scams. 

For the next few days, Okindo was forced to work long hours every day, with his job description entailing sending thousands of messages using fake social media accounts. He further narrated how he was subjected to severe punishments whenever he failed to meet his targets. 

Besides suffering physical assaults, Okindo claimed he was denied food for days at a time and was locked in freezing rooms at one point. 

In addition, his captors also reportedly subjected other victims to torture through electric shocks and other forms of abuse. 

“It was hell on Earth. I lost all hope. I was completely broken," he went on. 

Okindo's plight ended in April 2025, after he was freed from a notorious Myanmar compound. His release came following intervention by authorities from several countries. 

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Since Myanmar's military coup in 2021, cyberslavery compounds have multiplied, especially near the Thai border, with the numbers doubling in four years. 

According to UN estimates, 120,000 people are trapped in the scam centres in Myanmar, with a majority being forced into online fraud and financial scams. 

Okindo's incident was similar to that of another Kenyan who escaped a scam centre and limped into a Thai police station, begging for help after crossing mountains and walking over 10 kilometres to safety.