"Organ Harvesting for Not Meeting Quotas"... Operating Rooms Discovered in Thai Crime Compound That Housed 15,000

Evidence of "organ trafficking" for failing to meet quotas
Medical records found on abortion and syphilis testing

Operating rooms equipped for actual surgical procedures and confinement cells have been discovered in major scam crime hubs along the Thailand-Cambodia border. The shocking possibility has been raised that organ trafficking may have been conducted as punishment for syndicate members who failed to meet fraud performance quotas.

Surgical instruments placed on an operating table inside a building in the scam complex of Chong Tom, Surin Province, northeastern Thailand, on the 8th. Photo by Jiji Press

According to Japan's Jiji Press on September 8, the Thai military guided ASEAN observers and journalists inside a criminal compound located in Chong Tom, Surin Province, northeastern Thailand, and revealed the site to the public.

Thai military reveals interior of scam compound

Chong Tom was seized and brought under the control of the Thai military during a military conflict in December of last year. The compound was originally built as a hotel resort, but transformed into a large-scale scam hub during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The compound covers an area of 810,000 square meters and contains over 150 buildings, including residences. At its peak, about 15,000 syndicate members, including Japanese nationals, lived there and engaged in fraud. Documents seized by the military contained stipulations that, if fraud quotas were not met, value had to be created in other ways; the word “organ trafficking” was explicitly mentioned in these documents.

Medical surgical tables and equipment are scattered around. Photo by Jiji Press

In one three-story building inside the compound, an operating bed and various surgical instruments, believed to have been used in illegal organ extraction, were discovered. In addition, solitary confinement cells with traces of closed-circuit television (CCTV) installation were found. There was also evidence of frequent testing for sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis. Examination tables and medical records related to abortion were found to have been left behind in the interior.

Among the fugitives of Vietnamese and Chinese nationality arrested by the Thai military, some had physical wounds or missing fingers. A Thai military official who guided the tour explained, “Victims trafficked for human labor and forced to participate in scams became targets for organ trafficking if they failed to meet targets or repay debts.”

Amnesty International exposes "government collusion with criminal organizations"

Previously, the international human rights organization Amnesty International released an in-depth report last year, revealing that in more than 50 scam hubs across Cambodia, mass human trafficking, child labor, and torture—severe violations of human rights—are being committed on a large scale, and that the Cambodian government has deliberately turned a blind eye to this.

Amnesty visited 53 scam compounds in 16 regions of Cambodia over 18 months, and interviewed 58 survivors from eight different countries, including nine children. Most had been deceived by fake recruiting ads on social media and, after entering the country, were subjected to forced labor under violence and threats.

Foreign online scam criminals arrested by Cambodian police authorities. Cambodian National Police Headquarters

Sawat (pseudonym), a 17-year-old Thai boy, was severely beaten by managers and threatened with being forced to jump from a building while stripped of his clothes. Another survivor testified, “A Vietnamese victim was beaten so severely for 25 minutes that their entire body turned purple, and was then subjected to electric torture.” It was also confirmed that a Chinese child died during these incidents.

Amnesty International pointed out, “The Cambodian authorities are fully aware of the situation in these scam compounds, yet either neglect the crimes or are colluding with the organizations.” While the government promotes clampdowns and “rescue operations” to the outside world, in reality, police merely pretend to accept people handed over by the organization at the compound entrance, and most compounds continue operating as before.

“Cambodian scam crimes thought to be over, but the roots remain”

Subsequent reports have indicated that, despite pressure and crackdowns from the international community, Cambodia’s scam crime industry is spreading from its previous major centers to smaller-scale operations.

Mango Compound, known as a major crime hub in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, photographed last October. Photo by News1

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) has warned, “Although tens of thousands of foreign workers were repatriated after crackdowns, the land, capital, and human networks that supported the scam industry remain in some regions like Poipet.” The group also noted, “Construction projects linked to online scam criminal organizations continued even during the crackdowns, and recruitment efforts through clandestine methods also persist.”

The Cambodian National Committee for Countering Online Scams refuted these claims, stating, “Management and blocking of areas suspected of fraud are being carried out thoroughly.” In Korea, the horrors of the Cambodian crime compounds became a major social issue last year after it was revealed that a 22-year-old Korean university student, referred to as Park, died after being detained locally. The syndicate members who killed Park were arrested by the local police in November of the same year, and were sentenced to life imprisonment, the maximum penalty under the law.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.