Lured by the promise of well-paying jobs in Southeast Asia, thousands instead allegedly end up enslaved in jail-like compounds and forced to carry out online scams

“The Chinese would shock me with electric probes almost daily. I endured this continuously for nine months,” claims Seye, a 27-year-old woman who is one of hundreds of alleged trafficking victims who streamed across the Thai-Myanmar border this month.

Seye was among 260 people, more than half of them Ethiopian, who were transferred across the border to Thailand this February by a rebel group. Several among the group agreed to be interviewed on the condition they use only their first name.