Fraud base on Thai-Cambodian border suspected of organ trafficking

It has been discovered that illegal organ trafficking may have been carried out at the base of a special international fraud group in the border area between Thailand and Cambodia. The Thai military announced this on the 7th. It is suspected that if the ``sales'' of members recruited from within and outside Japan as ``kakeko'' did not reach quotas, they were encouraged to donate their organs as punishment.

The base is located in the Chong Jom area of ​​Surin province in northeastern Thailand, which borders Ud Daw Meanchey province in northern Cambodia, and was captured by the Thai military in December last year as border conflicts intensified. On the 7th, the inside was opened to the press and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ceasefire Monitoring Mission.

According to the Thai military, the documents confiscated at the base included a sentence that read, ``If the target amount cannot be achieved, (members) can be used in other ways,'' and the soldier who was guiding them revealed that there was also a phrase that read ``organ sales.'' The three-story building, with a sign reading ``Clinic'' in Chinese characters, has a room equipped with surgical instruments and an operating table, and appears to have been used for things such as organ harvesting.

Part of the building contained a cell with no windows and evidence of surveillance cameras. During the battle with the Cambodian army, they captured fleeing Vietnamese and Chinese, but they were covered in wounds all over their bodies, and some had their fingers severed. The guide explained, ``Victims of human trafficking were detained and forced to commit fraud, and if they failed to achieve their goals, they were punished.Furthermore, if they were unable to repay the debt owed to the organization, they were apparently forced into organ trafficking.''

There was also evidence that the facility was frequently tested for sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis. Prostitution for members was also carried out within the base, and there was a hospital room equipped with an internal examination table and a doctor's certificate regarding an induced abortion.

The building was originally constructed as a hotel resort, but it appears to have been converted into a fraud base during the coronavirus pandemic. The area of ​​the base is approximately 810,000 square meters, which is the size of 17 Tokyo Domes. Approximately 15,000 members engaged in fraud, and there is evidence that Japanese people were also involved. There are more than 150 buildings that were used as residences.