ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Tuesday Cambodia, a Southeast Asian country bordering Thailand and Vietnam, had agreed to repatriate 54 of its nationals detained after a raid on an online scam compound, with the group to be sent home without facing prosecution under a recently enacted cybercrime law.
The development follows a diplomatic push by Islamabad after the Pakistan Embassy in Cambodia took up the case with local authorities, amid concerns over the welfare of detainees held in Siem Reap province.
The arrests took place during a raid on a compound linked to online fraud operations, part of a wider crackdown by Cambodian authorities on so-called scam centers, which are large, organized facilities where foreign nationals are often recruited, and in some cases trafficked, to carry out Internet-based scams targeting victims globally.
“The Pakistan Embassy in Cambodia has actively pursued the matter with the Cambodian Government,” the foreign office in Islamabad said in a statement. “This is in line with the instructions of the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister to take all possible actions aimed at facilitating the Pakistani community abroad.”
“As a result of the Embassy’s efforts, the host authorities have agreed to the early repatriation of 54 Pakistani nationals detained in Siem Reap Province,” it added. “These individuals were arrested following a raid on a scamming compound.”
Pakistani officials said embassy staff were in contact with the detainees and were making arrangements for their return once flights were finalized.
“Our Embassy staff are taking steps to ensure the welfare of the detained Pakistanis,” it said. “These detainees will leave Cambodia as soon as flight arrangements are finalized.”
“As a goodwill gesture from the Cambodian authorities, the detainees will be repatriated without any legal proceedings against them under the ‘Law on Combating Online Scams’, which came into effect on 7 April 2026, imposing significant prison sentences and hefty fines.”
Cambodia has intensified enforcement against online scam networks this year, with authorities carrying out a series of raids on compounds where thousands of foreign workers have been found operating under tightly controlled conditions.
Rights groups and investigators say many workers are lured with false job offers and later coerced into fraudulent activities, though some are believed to have participated knowingly.
Pakistani media reports suggest more than 200 nationals may have been held in Cambodia in related cases, highlighting the scale of the issue for migrant workers caught up in the country’s expanding cyber fraud industry.
