In the first nine months of 2026, Cambodia's immigration authorities have deported 52,039 foreign nationals from 87 countries, including more than 3,000 Bangladeshis, in a campaign against online fraud.
The Anirban Survivor Voice Foundation reported the data on Wednesday, citing Cambodia-based media outlet BTV News Global.
In the report published on Tuesday, BTV cited an official report from Cambodia’s General Department of Immigration.
According to the report, 3,104 operations were conducted from January to September 2026.
The operations detained and deported 52,039 foreign nationals from 87 countries, a jump of more than 400 percent from the same period.
Among the deported were about 23,000 Chinese, more than 8,000 Indonesians, more than 4,000 Vietnamese and more than 3,000 Bangladeshi citizens.
In addition, more than 2,500 Pakistanis, about 2,000 Burmese and more than 1,500 Thai citizens have been deported.
The report also said that among the deported, more than 18,000 foreign citizens from 38 countries have been identified as being directly involved in online fraud activities.
However, no separate statistics have been published on how many of the deported Bangladeshis have been victims of human trafficking and forced into these activities.
The Anirban Survivor Voice Foundation, which works to rescue and protect victims of human trafficking, believes that it is important to objectively verify how many of the deported Bangladeshis were victims of human trafficking and forced into criminal activities.
The organisation believes that Bangladesh needs to take initiatives to ensure the identification and protection of victims of trafficking, rather than identifying them as criminals or scammers without proper verification.
Anirban demands that an accurate list be prepared of how many Bangladeshis deported from Cambodia have already returned to their home country and how many are still stuck there.
Along with the rapid repatriation of Bangladeshis residing in Cambodia, it is important to ensure legal assistance, mental health care and rehabilitation as needed for those returning to the country, it said.
The organisation added that it is necessary to increase the surveillance of the relevant authorities so that deported Bangladeshis do not fall prey to human trafficking by being lured by traffickers into illegally entering Cambodia from another country and fall victim once again.
It is also necessary to identify members of human trafficking gangs and bring them to justice, Anirban said.