How Kenyans are being scammed by south-east Asian trafficking cartels posing as job recruitment agents.
In our series of letters from African journalists, Waihiga Mwaura from Kenya's Citizen TV looks at how Kenyans are being scammed by trafficking cartels posing as job recruitment agents.
"Already one young Kenyan has died as a result of a botched operation by quack doctors operating in the Chinese-run factories in Myanmar,"I spoke to two women about their recent experiences. Requesting anonymity, a 31-year-old, who has a a diploma in hotel management, and a 35-year-old high school graduate told me how they had left for jobs in Thailand in August with a promise of a monthly salary of $800 .
They ended up in a 15-storey building, which became their full-time residence - although they did not know in which town or city they were located. "As a woman you may be forced into sex trafficking. If that does not work they may harvest your organs and sell them to refund their costs," she explained, her companion assenting as she spoke.'Fraud factories'
It said even though many of the recruitment agents were wanted by the police, they were still advertising non-existent jobs in Thailand and Kenyans continued to fall prey to the scams. In total 76 victims, including 10 Ugandans and one Burundian, have been repatriated since August with the help of officials at Kenya's embassy in Thailand.
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