18 Keralites, 2 Tamilians arrested in Cambodia over alleged online scams

Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links. Mehfil*, a 23-year-old software engineering graduate from Kerala, travelled to Japan for a job arranged by an acquaintance on October 29, 2025. According to his father, the person who set up the job led Mehfil to believe that he needed to go to Bangkok before heading to Japan. However, he later ended up in Cambodia, where he has been imprisoned for over a month on allegations of being part of online scamming activities.Twenty other Indian nationals are in a similar situation and have been detained in Cambodia since June 26. This group comprises 16 men and four women, 18 of them from Kerala, and two persons from Tamil Nadu. Their families have been in uncertainty for weeks, desperately trying to reach out to MPs, MLAs, and the Indian embassy to seek details and the release of their kin. TNM spoke to the families of four of the arrested persons hailing from Kerala.As per the embassy, the 20 individuals are currently in Banthey-Meanchey Provincial Prison, where they await trial. Different routes to CambodiaThe twenty people seem to have arrived in Cambodia through different ways.Mehfil’s father said that it has been eight months since his son went to Cambodia, and he learnt of it only after a few months. “His office was downstairs, and he was staying in a hostel upstairs. He was not allowed to go outside.” The family did not know where he worked or what his job was. All they knew was that he was working in a role related to computers. Mehfil told them that he did not even know initially that he had ended up in Cambodia. TNM also spoke to a family member of another person who has been arrested. According to them, their son Roshan* worked in Vietnam for the last two years before going to a company in Cambodia this February. Roshan's family said he was working in a software engineering position.Another family told TNM their daughter went to Vietnam for a job in a cafe, later ending up in Cambodia. In June, Mehfil informed his family that his company was facing some licensing issues and that he might return to Kerala. Later, after his arrest, he called his father to inform him about the situation. “He said they might be sent back to Kerala, as police are supposed to deport them after arrest,” his father added.However, they did not receive any further information about him.Similarly, Roshan's family also mentioned that he had informed them about the company's licensing issues.Later, the families approached MPs in Kerala and received information from the Indian embassy in Cambodia that they were arrested on charges of online scamming activities.The Cambodian police in Poipet apprehended them, and they were subsequently transferred to Banthey Meanchey Provincial Prison, where they await investigation and trial. According to the embassy letter to the family, a consular officer visited the Indian nationals in prison on July 21 after being granted access. “He interacted with both the prison authorities and the Indian nationals. The officer also requested that the jail authorities facilitate access to all permissible facilities. The prison authorities informed him that the Indian nationals would be taken to court once an order was received. The Embassy will continue to monitor the case and provide all possible assistance to the Indian nationals,” the embassy letter read. Families request MEA intervention Mehfil’s family has sent an email to the Ministry of External Affairs, urging them to intervene and coordinate with the Indian Embassy in Phnom Penh, as well as the relevant Cambodian authorities, to obtain and communicate information with the family.The families are seeking detailed information about the exact charges against each of the 20 Indian nationals, the case number, the court handling the matter, the current status of the legal proceedings, the expected date of their first court appearance, and the legal options available for their release or bail.“The families are not seeking any unlawful intervention or special treatment. We are only requesting a fair, transparent, and expedited legal process. We sincerely ask that the individual role of each detained person be carefully examined,” the letter stated.According to Khmer Times, a Cambodian news website, during the first six months of 2026, the Cambodian authorities conducted inspections at 3000 locations and detained 2300 foreign nationals suspected of involvement in online scams. These suspects are from 20 nationalities as per report.  Earlier in 2024, seven men from Kerala returned home after refusing to work at Cambodian scam centres. They faced physical assault and mental torture when they declined the job offers.Lured by jobs, trapped in terror: Indian men’s harrowing escape from Cambodian cyber centre*names changed