A total of 281 individuals were arrested for offenses such as human trafficking, passport forgery, corruption, telecommunications fraud, and sexual exploitation as a result of an Interpol operation targeting human trafficking groups that are forcing victims to commit cyber scams on a massive scale.

The operation, dubbed “Operation Storm Makers II,” took place between October 16-20 and involved law enforcers from 27 countries in Asia, as well as Africa, the Middle East and South America.

Over the course of five months, more than 270,000 inspections and police checks were conducted at 450 hotspots associated with human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Many of these locations were identified as hubs for trafficking victims to notorious cyber scam centers in Southeast Asia.

The victims, often lured through fake job advertisements, were subjected to severe physical abuse and forced to commit online fraud on an industrial scale, Interpol said.

The fraudulent schemes included fake cryptocurrency investments, work-from-home scams, lottery fraud, and online gambling schemes.

As part of the operation, police rescued 149 human trafficing victims , many of whom were subjected to exploitation and abuse while being forced to commit online fraud.

One involved 40 Malaysian victims lured to Peru with promises of high-paying jobs, only to be coerced into committing telecommunications fraud.

Reports from Ugandan law enforcement detailed citizens being taken to Dubai under the pretext of employment, only to be diverted to Thailand and Myanmar. Once there, victims were handed over to an online fraud syndicate, kept under armed guard, and taught to defraud banks.

In India, Telangana’s police reported one of their first cases of human trafficking for cyber fraud purposes. An accountant was lured to Southeast Asia, where he was forced to participate in online fraud schemes under inhumane conditions. His release was only secured following the payment of a ransom.

Over the past year, a rise in trafficking victims was observed in Myanmar, mainly from Kayin and Shan States, the organization noted.

Interpol said that over 360 investigations were initiated as a result of the operation, many of them are still ongoing.

Last week, the UK sanctioned 9 individuals and 5 entities for their involvement in trafficking people in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, forcing them to work for online ‘scam farms’ which enable large-scale fraud.