Sixty-one Vietnamese citizens were among nearly 200 foreigners who were recently rescued by Myanmar authorities from fraudulent gambling establishments in the country’s northern areas, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.

The ministry’s spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang made the confirmation at a regular press conference in Hanoi on Thursday afternoon.

Myanmar had previously informed Vietnam that many Vietnamese were identified among almost 200 foreigners rescued during local police’s recent raids on scam casinos in the country’s northern border areas, Hang said.

The Vietnamese Embassy immediately verified the information and has so far identified 61 of them as Vietnamese nationals, the spokeswoman confirmed.

The embassy has requested that Myanmar authorities provide temporary accommodation and food for all of the Vietnamese citizens, and promptly launch an inquiry to define their personal details and other relevant issues. 

Hang said that the ministry directed the embassy and other relevant agencies to coordinate with Myanmar authorities to take citizen protection measures to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the rescued. 

Vietnam’s competent agencies will repatriate all these Vietnamese as soon as Myanmar authorities complete their investigation into the case.

Anyone who has information related to their relatives may contact the citizen protection hotlines at +95 9660888998 of the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar or at +84 981848484 or +84 965411118 of the foreign ministry’s Consular Department. 

A member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Vietnam, Myanmar borders China to the north and northeast, Laos to the east, Thailand to the southeast, and Bangladesh and India to the west.

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