Federal police act in São Paulo against network sending Brazilians to Southeast Asia
A search warrant was executed in São José dos Campos and an arrest order issued against a recruiter operating in Cambodia. The group deceived victims with false job offers and forced them to commit virtual fraud.
Federal police act in São Paulo against network sending Brazilians to Southeast Asia
On the morning of Tuesday (14), agents from the Federal Police launched an operation to combat illegal human trafficking destined for Southeast Asian territories. The target was a criminal group that enticed Brazilian citizens to work in locations specialising in internet scams.
In São José dos Campos, in the interior of São Paulo, police executed a search and seizure warrant at a property. The investigation was prompted by notification from the Foreign Ministry regarding the rescue of compatriots found in a locality on the border between Cambodia and Vietnam. These two countries, along with Thailand and Myanmar, are known to harbour installations where coerced individuals perpetrate digital fraud.
According to the corporation's investigation, the recruitment method involved false job advertisements with high salaries, with the promise that all travel costs would be covered. However, upon arriving at their destination, the victims were stripped of their passports, held in unlawful imprisonment and punished with physical violence.
The operation was named Operation Mekong, inspired by the waterway that runs through the area and marks part of Cambodia and Vietnam. Against one of those involved — a 29-year-old man who has been in Cambodia since 2024 — a capture warrant was issued, and his name is registered in Interpol's database. The other participant, of the same age, was subjected to procedural conditions: he was prohibited from leaving national territory pending surrender of his passport, ordered to present himself regularly to the judiciary and forbidden from remaining absent from São José dos Campos for more than five consecutive days without authorisation from the magistrate.
In a statement, the institution reported that the accused will face charges under article 149-A of the Penal Code — international human trafficking — with an aggravating factor due to the fact that victims were removed from the country. The penalty can reach twelve years imprisonment.
The Federal Police initiative coincides with the recent publication of the National Report on Human Trafficking, which identified Cambodia as the country most sought by Brazilians deceived by this type of organisation. In 2025, 44 cases involving that destination were recorded, out of a total of 84 national cases, representing an increase of 33% compared with the previous period.
The study, prepared by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, also revealed that sexual exploitation surpassed forced labour as the principal motivation behind the crimes investigated by the Federal Police.
International bodies focused on eradicating this phenomenon stress that government statistics generally underestimate the true scale of the problem, since a large proportion of cases are only discovered when the victim manages to signal their situation.
In response to the situation, the Brazilian Executive established diplomatic representation in Phnom Penh, seat of the Cambodian government, in August 2025. Until then, requests were handled by the embassy based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo