Nearly 3,400 Bangladeshis sent back from Cambodia

More than 3,000 Bangladeshis were among 52,039 foreign nationals deported from Cambodia in the first nine months of 2026, as the country intensified its crackdown on online scam operations, raising concerns over whether some of the deportees were human trafficking victims.

Anirban Survivor Voice Foundation disclosed this information on Wednesday, citing a report by Cambodia-based BTV News Global, which quoted data of the country’s immigration department.

According to the report published on Tuesday, Cambodian immigration authorities conducted 3,104 operations between January and September, detaining and deporting nationals of 87 countries.

The number of deportees increased by 41,685 from the same period in 2025, indicating a rise of more than 400%.

According to Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior, the country deported 72,426 undocumented foreigners, including 8,994 women, from 96 countries between 1 September 2023 and 13 September 2026.

Its General Department of Immigration said the deportations took place during the seventh legislature of the National Assembly under the Royal Government of Cambodia. Touch Sokhak, deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, said the deportees comprise 11 nationalities, led by 32,395 Chinese, 10,568 Indonesians and 8,737 Vietnamese. 

Of them, 13,619 Chinese, 2,470 Indonesians and 4,986 Vietnamese were involved in online scams.

The deportees also included 3,549 Pakistanis, 3,364 Bangladeshis, 2,395 Myanmar nationals, 2,385 Thais, 1,921 Indians, 1,155 Filipinos, 1,111 Ugandans and 577 North Koreans. Of the Bangladeshis, 852 were involved in online scams.

Sokhak added that, as of September, 1,605 foreigners from 30 countries were being held at five deportation centres. Of them, 469 people from 15 nationalities were found to have been living and working with online scam operations.

However, Anirban Survivor Voice Foundation said over 18,000 foreigners from 38 countries were identified as directly involved in online scams. 

However, no separate statistics were provided on how many of the deported Bangladeshis had been trafficked or forced to participate in criminal activities.

Anirban Survivor Voice Foundation, which works to rescue and protect trafficking survivors, called for an independent assessment to determine how many Bangladeshi deportees were victims.

It said people who had been trafficked and compelled to work in scam centres should not automatically be labelled criminals without proper screening.