Myanmar workers trafficked from online scam compounds in Tachileik are reportedly being forced into slave labor at Chinese-operated rare earth mining sites in southern Mong Hsat near the Thai border at Myanmar side, according to testimony shared with the Shan Human Rights Foundation by a survivor.

A trafficking survivor identified as Ko Thet (pseudonym) said he was trafficked in April 2025 from a Chinese-run online scam company located inside the “Yaung Ni Oo” compound owned by the United Wa State Army in Tachileik, Myanmar.

He said he had been working in the company’s accounting department before being falsely accused by a Chinese supervisor and punished by being forced to carry out online scam operations without pay.

Three months later, he and two others were reportedly transported by a Myanmar police officer to Mong Yawn in southern Mong Hsat Township and handed over to UWSA soldiers, who then transferred them to a Chinese rare earth mining site on the eastern bank of the Nam Khut River near the Thai border.

According to the Shan Human Rights Foundation, the three men were detained at the mining site alongside around 30 UWSA prisoners, including detainees held in leg irons, and were forced to perform hard labor such as digging earth and carrying heavy materials.

The statement also said the trafficked workers were separated from approximately 100 regular laborers and guarded by around 50 UWSA soldiers.

One of the survivor’s coworkers reportedly attempted to escape but was recaptured, beaten, and transferred to another mining site in Mong Pawk.

Ko Thet said he was forced to work at the Mong Yawn mine for about two months before eventually escaping.