Thirty-seven Bangladeshi nationals rescued from various cyber scam compounds in Cambodia returned home late on Friday night. Lured abroad with promises of well-paid jobs, they were instead turned into cyber slaves and subjected to prolonged abuse.

The group arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 1:25 am on a Thai Airways (TG-339) flight, reports a press release. BRAC’s Migration Programme said all returnees received emergency assistance at the airport, along with financial support to help them travel home.

One of the returnees, Shahinur Rahman (pseudonym) from Dhaka, said they had been sent to Cambodia through legal channels after being promised attractive employment opportunities abroad. However, upon arrival, Bangladeshi trafficking agents handed them over, in exchange for money, to various cyber scam compounds controlled by Chinese operators.