Beijing ready to cooperate with Rabat on kidnapped Moroccans in Myanmar, allegedly held by Chinese nationals

As the case of kidnapped Moroccans in Myanmar continues to unfold, the Chinese embassy in Rabat has expressed its readiness to provide all necessary support and cooperation necessary to rescuing the detained nationals.

In a statement to Hespress, Chinese Ambassador to Morocco Li Changlin said that “China is willing to intensify cooperation with relevant parties, including Morocco, and deepen discussions on law enforcement and security, and we hope that the Moroccan citizens held hostage can return to their families in Morocco safely in the coming days.”

Ambassador Li responded to the kidnapped’s families, who protested in front of the Chinese embassy in Morocco on Thursday, affirming that the young Moroccans are held by Chinese nationals for forced labor.

“The Chinese government is focusing on this issue and working with Myanmar, Thailand and other countries to combat telecommunications fraud, strengthen international law enforcement cooperation, dismantle these fraud rings and release the imprisoned victims,” Li Changlin told Hespress.

Myanmar borders China, which is maintaining its neutrality in the crisis, where several armed groups have succeeded in taking control of important positions along the border for criminal activities.

Located in the border areas between Myanmar and Thailand, telecommunications fraud networks seriously harm the rights and interests of the residents of the countries concerned, including Chinese nationals, said Beijing’s ambassador in Rabat: “Let’s fight together against telecommunications fraud networks.”

Following the detention of some Moroccan nationals by criminal gangs operating in Myanmar in the border areas with Thailand, a judicial investigation was launched by the National Judicial Police Squad, according to a statement issued by the King’s Prosecutor at the Casablanca Court of Appeal.

According to data available to Moroccan authorities, some of the victims and the families of detained nationals were questioned, and results of the preliminary investigations showed that the matter is related to criminal networks specialized in human trafficking operating in the border areas of Myanmar.

These gangs lured their victims into concluding fictitious employment contracts with international e-commerce companies in the mentioned areas for highly attractive wages, but it turned out that this was only a fraud, deception and exploitation leading to their detention, and forced labor in harsh conditions.

“In relation to the above, and considering the preliminary information available and the data circulated by some social media outlets, the Public Prosecution calls for caution and vigilance against recruitment attempts that are still ongoing through the network as well as some intermediaries in Morocco and abroad,” the Moroccan authorities’ statement said.

The Prosecutor General stressed that “the investigations carried out by the relevant judicial police services are in line with all the facts and circumstances that accompanied these incidents and the arrest of any person suspected of involvement in these acts and the arrangement of what is legally required in light of this.”