5 Nepalis dumped by traffickers in Micronesia rescued
5 Nepalis dumped by traffickers in Micronesia rescued
Published: 03:20 pm Aug 02, 2016
KATHMANDU: Five more Nepalis, who were duped by human traffickers and left stranded in Federated States of Micronesia, were rescued and sent back to Nepal on Tuesday, the Embassy of Nepal in Kuala Lumpur said.
All of them are men -- three of them from Chitwan, and one each from Kavre and Gulmi districts.
Among 16 Nepalis left high and dry in Micronesian islands, seven were rescued with the help of IOM and sent to Nepal on June 25.
Referring to the officials of Federated States of Micronesia, the Nepali mission in Malaysia said four Nepalis have been acknowledged as refugees by the UNHCR.
They were apparently smuggled to the Micronesian islands on boats via Malaysia and Indonesia.
With a dream to land in the United States of America and Australia, the Nepali nationals had resorted to human trafficking rackets that swindled them of fortune before dumping them in various Micronesian islands.
After finding them without any valid travel documents, the Federated State of Micronesia authorities arrested the Nepalis and sent them to detention centres.
The Embassy of Nepal said after it received information about their fate a probe was initiated and one-way travel documents were issued to them for free.
On the request of Embassy of Nepal, a statement issued by the Nepali mission said, the Federated States of Micronesia officials rescued the five Nepalis and sent them to Nepal.