The Compound

Summary

Criminal Podcast: "The Compound"

Original Release Date: September 12, 2025
Host: Phoebe Judge
Guest Journalist: Denise Chan
Primary Storyteller: “Jella” (pseudonym)

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Episode Overview

This episode of Criminal tells the story of Jella, a young Filipina who was lured by the promise of a lucrative customer service job in Thailand but found herself trafficked to a scam compound in Myanmar. Through first-hand accounts and investigative reporting, the episode exposes the rapid rise of scam compounds across Southeast Asia, the harrowing experiences of forced laborers inside them, and rare insights into their tactics, operations, and the desperate fight for freedom.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jella’s Deceptive Recruitment (01:14–04:34)

• Background:
  Jella, a 26-year-old woman from the Philippines, dislikes her corporate job but enjoys traveling and posting online content.
• Recruitment Pitch:
  She is contacted about a supposed customer service role in Thailand, offered by Filipino recruiters. The promise includes room, board, and proximity to wildlife and national parks in the Thak Province.
• Travel and Arrival:
  Upon arrival in Thailand, Jella is unexpectedly transported toward the border with Myanmar. At a bridge, she realizes something is amiss; crossed into Myanmar, she is met by strangers and begins to fear she has been trafficked.

“That’s the time I realized that I was lied to.”
— Jella (03:31)

2. Crossing into Myanmar & Initial Shock (04:34–07:43)

• Civil War Context:
  Myanmar is in turmoil due to a recent military coup, making it unsafe and lawless, especially for outsiders.
• Pressure Tactics:
  Recruiters press her to continue, insisting all is well and that escorts are waiting.
• Arrival at the Compound:
  She is greeted by armed men and taken through a large, heavily guarded compound resembling a “mini city” but surrounded by militarized security.

“There are buildings everywhere... It’s almost like a mini city in the middle of nowhere.”
— Denise Chan (07:11)

3. The Scam Compound’s Reality (07:43–09:51)

• Living Conditions:
  Dormitories are cramped (seven women to a room), with limited privacy or personal autonomy.
• Revelation:
  Jella’s passport is confiscated, and the promised job is revealed to be a scam operation. She is forced into work and told she must pay USD $4,000 to leave—a sum framed as a debt for travel, visa, and recruiter costs.

4. Forced Sextortion & Psychological Impact (09:51–10:18)

• Nature of Work:
  Jella is assigned to sextortion scams—enticing men on dating apps into compromising videos for blackmail purposes.
• Emotional Toll: She is deeply disturbed by the work, which is far outside her experience and moral comfort.

“Nude photos, I can’t bear to see it like that… I haven’t seen any pornography or any videos about it.”
— Jella (10:03)

5. Coercion and Threats (10:18–12:49)

• Refusal Not An Option:
  Workers who resist are physically threatened, some told of “shoot to kill” orders.
• Escape Pathways:
  Ling Li, a trafficking expert, describes only three ways out: pay ransom (up to $30,000), seek NGO or police aid, or attempt a dangerous escape.

6. Daily Life & Operations at the Compound (13:49–17:44)

• Targeting Filipinos:
  Filipinos are recruited for their English fluency.
• KK Park:
  The compound is identified as “KK Park”—a vast, formerly rural region now built up rapidly after the 2021 coup.
• Surveillance:
  Workers are monitored nearly nonstop, with confiscated phones and constant video surveillance.
• Grueling Routine:
  14–16 hour workdays, seven days a week, with strict quotas and rare days off; work is scripted, often with the aid of AI.

“You get up, work 14, 16 hours, head straight back to your dorm, rest, then wake up and do it all over again.”
— Denise Chan (15:18)

• Types of Scams:
  Sextortion, romance scams, gambling, investment, loan scams, and more—each with a tailored script for the victim.

“There is a type of scam for any type of person.”
— Denise Chan (17:31)

• Scale:
  Some buildings house dozens of companies, generating up to $400,000 weekly.

7. Emotional Isolation & Family (19:49–21:27)

• Concealing the Truth:
  Jella lies to her family, especially her sister, to avoid worrying them.
• Confession:
  Eventually, emotional strain leads her to reveal her situation to her sister, who promises to help find a way out.

“I don’t want them to worry about me… I just want them to think I’m in good condition.”
— Jella (20:06)

“When I hear about my father, I was so weak about my feelings for him. Then there, I started spitting out every detail.”
— Jella (20:53)

8. Failed Ransom, Escalating Threats & Decision to Escape (21:27–24:00)

• Obstacles to Release:
  Even with promised ransom, the bosses refuse to let her go.
• New Compound Fears:
  News comes they’ll be transferred to a more brutal compound infamous for torture with electric batons.

“We will be transferring to a different compound… with a bigger fence, and it has another security guard.”
— Jella (23:00)

• Motivation to Flee:
  Jella resolves to escape before transfer.

9. The Escape Plan (26:15–33:52)

• Researching Rescues:
  Jella and friends learn online about Colonel Matalang, police attache at the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, who has helped others escape.
• Contact and Advice:
  The group reaches out; Col. Matalang cannot intervene directly due to the armed rebel control, but guides them to seek a “complaint desk” run by local rebel “landlords.”
• Execution:
  After suspecting their plot is discovered, the group departs at 1am with essential belongings only, following the colonel's instructions.

“Sister, we will escape tonight. If I cannot go home, then this will be my last message.”
— Jella (30:03)

• Confrontation at the Complaint Desk:
  At a bamboo hut near the gate, a standoff ensues with the bosses; the group stands firm, refusing all inducements and revealing their embassy contact.

“We are not scammers.”
— Jella (32:26)

• Success:
  The threat of embassy involvement compels the bosses to return their passports and release them. The colonel assists their safe passage out of Myanmar.

10. Aftermath & Broader Crackdown (33:52–36:29)

• Reporting the Recruiters:
  Back in Manila, Jella reports her traffickers to authorities.
• High-Profile Case:
  Later, Chinese actor Wong Xing is lured similarly and goes missing, prompting public outcry and state action.
• Large-Scale Liberation:
  In Feb 2025, a joint operation by Thai, Chinese, and Burmese forces rescues over 7,000 people from scam compounds, including KK Park.

“It's a huge human trafficking issue. There are compounds in Cambodia, Dubai, South America, and they're growing really, really fast.”
— Denise Chan (35:59)

• Ongoing Issue:
  Rescue operations are substantial but only temporary disruptions to a rapidly evolving criminal enterprise.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On realizing the scam:
  “That’s the time I realized that I was lied to.”
  — Jella (03:31)

• On the risks of refusing work:
  “If he tried to escape, there was a quote, shoot to kill order.”
  — Phoebe Judge, relaying Ling Li’s findings (10:18)

• On the monotony and surveillance:
  “There are cameras around the entire compound and all of their monitors as they're working… So all of their actions are constantly monitored.”
  — Denise Chan (14:56)

• On the scale of the scam industry:
  “Some of these companies are bringing out up to $400,000 a week.”
  — Denise Chan (19:26)

• On the urge to escape:
  “I need to leave this compound before we transfer to that compound.”
  — Jella (23:37)

• On the uncertainty of escape:
  “Sister, we will escape tonight. If I cannot go home, then this will be my last message.”
  — Jella (30:03)

• On standing up to the bosses:
  “We are not scammers.”
  — Jella (32:26)

• On the persistence of scam compounds:
  “There are compounds in Cambodia, There are compounds in Dubai. There are compounds in South America, and they're growing really, really fast.”
  — Denise Chan (35:59)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:14: Phoebe Judge introduces Jella’s background in the Philippines
• 03:31: Jella realizes she’s been misled and trafficked
• 04:34: Context of conflict in Myanmar, increasing Jella’s fears
• 07:11: Description of the compound—“a mini city in the middle of nowhere”
• 09:06: Denise Chan explains Jella’s assigned scam work (sextortion)
• 10:03: Jella describes her revulsion at her forced responsibilities
• 13:49: Why Filipinos are targeted; compound surveillance intensifies
• 15:18: Denise Chan describes the grueling work schedule
• 19:26: Discussion of the financial scale of scam factories
• 20:53: Jella breaks down and confides in her sister
• 23:00: Announcing transfer to a harsher compound—escalating the urgency to escape
• 26:39: Discovery of Colonel Matalang as potential rescuer
• 29:48: The escape begins—the group leaves the dorm at 1am
• 30:03: Jella’s farewell text to her sister
• 32:26: Group resists bosses’ attempts to keep them
• 33:52: Release is granted; group escapes with embassy help
• 35:40: Authorities launch a raid freeing 7,000 victims from scam compounds
• 35:59: Denise Chan reflects on the immense and persistent scale of forced scam labor

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Final Thoughts

The Compound is a gripping and sobering exposé of modern forced labor and online scamming networks, drawing on personal testimony and dogged reporting to illuminate how these criminal syndicates prey on vulnerable international job seekers. Jella’s story—her harrowing ordeal, her solidarity with fellow victims, and her calculated, desperate escape—stands as both a warning and a testament to courage in the face of exploitation. The episode closes on the reminder that, despite dramatic rescues, such criminal enterprises are proliferating rapidly, driven underground rather than eliminated by law enforcement. This phenomenon reaches well beyond Myanmar, pointing to a global crisis that remains unresolved.

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Transcript

[Phoebe Judge]

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[Phoebe Judge]

This episode contains adult content. Please use discretion. In 2023, a 26 year old woman named Jella was living in a city in the Philippines where she'd been working a corporate desk job. But she didn't enjoy it. She was more passionate about her hobby, taking day trips and hikes around the Philippines and posting videos about them online.

[Denise Chan]

And she hears about an opportunity to go abroad to Thailand to work.

[Phoebe Judge]

This is journalist Denise Chan. The job Jella had heard about was a customer service job and the employers were looking for English speakers. Jella had several phone calls with recruiters who were also from the Philippines. They told her all about the job. Room and board would be provided at an office campus located in the Thak Province in Thailand, about five and a half hours north of Bangkok, right on Thailand's border with Myanmar. The province is known for its national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Elephants, tigers and leopards live there and it is Thailand's largest waterfall.

[Denise Chan]

She's always wanted to go to Thailand and she thinks, okay, maybe I can take this job and go to Thailand, work and then on my days off I can go travel.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella got the job. It was a one year contract. She was hoping she could spend her time in Thailand posting more content and getting a bigger audience for her videos and that she might earn enough money to send some back home.

[Denise Chan]

So Jala gets on a plane, and she flies over to Bangkok. She quickly is picked up by a driver, and they drive somewhere.

[Phoebe Judge]

They drove for a long time. Jella didn't know the way to her new office. But after a while, she began to feel like they were going too far, further than she'd expected. And the driver didn't speak English, so she couldn't ask any questions. After a long journey, they arrived at a bridge. Jella grabbed her luggage and got out.

[Jella]

That's the time I realized that I was lied to.

[Phoebe Judge]

This is Jella. That's not her real name. Denise Chan spoke with her for the podcast Scam Factory, which Denise hosts. Jella told Denise that she was confused about what they were doing there. The bridge was long. Cars were going by in both directions, and there were pedestrian walkways across it. Two men and a woman were there waiting for Jela. They didn't speak English, but they were gesturing to her.

[Denise Chan]

They're asking her to cross this bridge, and she's looking at this bridge, and there's signage everywhere. And it's very clear that once she crosses will mean that she's exiting Thailand, and it will mean that she's entering Myanmar. And this is something that starts to raise alarm bells for Jella right away, because she had heard about a lot of human trafficking happening going into Myanmar.

[Phoebe Judge]

What's going on in Myanmar? What's the situation in the country?

[Denise Chan]

So Myanmar at the present is going through a civil war. A military junta had overthrown the democratically elected government. And so as a result of that, there's a bunch of civil unrest and also a lot of internal fighting in Myanmar.

[Phoebe Judge]

So this is not a place where she wants to be.

[Denise Chan]

No, not at all.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella later told Denise that she didn't know what to do. So she pulled out her phone.

[Denise Chan]

She's in a foreign country. She doesn't speak the language. She doesn't know where she is. If she were to run, she doesn't even know how she would get back home. So she picks up her phone, and she goes into this group chat that she has with her recruiters, and she's texting them and asking them, is this. Is this right? Am I actually going into Myanmar? And the recruiters are reassuring her. They're saying, yes, yes, yes, this is correct. This is correct.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella tried to ask why she was going to Myanmar, also known as Burma, when the job was supposed to be in Thailand. Her recruiters told her not to worry. She had a visa for Myanmar. So everything would be fine. She asked them how she'd leave Myanmar if she entered, and one of the women on the phone said it wouldn't be a problem. There were armed men near the bridge, but the recruiters told Jella she'd be safe. They said there were escorts waiting for her on the other side who would take her to the office.

[Jella]

I already want to back out and it was so very scary. At the bottom of the bridge, it was a river, so I have nothing to go except to follow the instructions. I'm just thinking that if I escape, what will happen to me? And then if I go through, what will happen to me too?

[Phoebe Judge]

And then Jella cross the bridge. I'm Phoebe Judge. This is criminal. When she got to the other side of the bridge, Jella was picked up by men in uniforms with guns. They drove through an area with unpaved roads and open fields and then they arrived at a steel gate with guards in uniform. Beyond the gate, Jela saw lots of concrete buildings.

[Denise Chan]

There are buildings everywhere. There are dorm buildings everywhere. There's restaurants, there's supermarkets, there's. There's stores for you to pick things up at. It's almost like a mini city in the middle of nowhere.

[Phoebe Judge]

There were tree lined streets, but on the roofs of some of the buildings there were floodlights and there were guards by the doors. Jella was taken to the dorms on the second floor of a white two story building where she was eventually assigned a room.

[Denise Chan]

There are four bunk beds and essentially there are seven girls sharing one small room together. Angela is assigned the bottom bunk and one of the things she does is she gets a small little towel to put up on the side of her bunk bed just to give herself a little bit of privacy.

[Phoebe Judge]

She was taken to an office on the first floor. It was patrolled by guards. And then she learned that she wasn't going to be working a customer service job. She was going to be scamming people just like everyone else there. Most of them had been trafficked here from other countries, just like Jela, thinking they were accepting a regular job and had no idea they'd be forced to scam. Jella's passport was confiscated and she was told that if she wanted to leave, she'd have to pay her boss's US$4,000, which some people did. They were told they owed the scam operators money for flights visas and recruiter fees. If she couldn't pay or if her family couldn't pay, she would have to work. Some people worked romance scams and others did investment scams. But Jella's job would be different.

[Denise Chan]

Jella learns very, very quickly that her job is actually sextortion. She is expected to essentially talk to strangers on dating apps and convince them to take the conversation to the next level to go on video chat. And that's when she would pass the customer, they call them customers over to her boss in order to film them, film this customer masturbating and eventually use that footage to blackmail the customer for money.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella says she was shocked Jela followed a script when she was texting the strangers on dating apps and usually the men she was texting with started sending her photos of themselves.

[Jella]

Nude photos, I can't bear to see it like that. Kinds of pictures with the nudity. That was so hard for me because I haven't seen any pornography or any videos about it.

[Phoebe Judge]

In the Philippines, Denise Chan says that refusing to work wasn't an option. People who had refused said they'd been threatened with physical violence. One person was told that if he tried to escape, there was a quote, shoot to kill order. Experts like Ling Li, a former Chinese police officer who studies human trafficking in east and Southeast Asia, talked to many people who managed to get out of scam compounds like the one Jella had ended up in, and learned that there's usually only three ways that people escape. Either the family pays the ransom, which can be as high as US$30,000, or people manage to get in touch with police or local NGO who can try to help them. The only other option is to attempt an escape on your own, but it's risky. In Myanmar, nearby villagers are promised lots of money if they keep an eye out escapees. We'll be right back. Support for criminal comes from Quints as the fall begins, it's a great time to think ahead about holes in your wardrobe. Quints can help you fill those gaps with clothes that are stylish, cozy and budget conscious and that can last you for many falls to come. Quince has quality essentials like sweaters made of 100% Mongolian cashmere from just $50 plus silk tops and skirts that are completely washable and flattering denim jeans that are actually affordable. Quince works with top factories to get you prices that are 50 to 80% less than similar brands. I wear oxford shirts from Quince all year. They wash well and the fabric looks and feels high quality. And lately in the evenings I'm putting on their blue chore jacket as an extra layer. You can keep it classic and cozy this fall with long lasting staples from quint. Go to quint.com criminal for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N C E.com criminal to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.com criminal support for criminal comes from NetSuite there's a lot to think about when you're planning for the future of your business, but you can't predict everything coming your way. Netsuite by Oracle can help you keep the clear head you need in uncertain times. It's a business management suite used by over 42,000 businesses and powered by AI. NetSuite by Oracle gives you a full picture of your business, from tracking your shipments around the world to how tariffs are impacting you to how your money is moving in real time. It puts your accounting, financial management, inventory and HR all in one place. With Netsuite you can collect data quickly, data that you need to make the right decisions and find the best opportunities for your growing business. Speaking of opportunity, you can download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at netsuite.com criminal the guide is free to you at netsuite.com criminal that's at netsuite.com criminal Jella says that her bosses at the compound communicated with her and the other Filipino workers through a translator.

[Denise Chan]

So one of the reasons why Filipinos are targeted for these compounds is because of their ability to speak English and scam people from English speaking countries.

[Phoebe Judge]

But people from lots of different countries are being trafficked to Myanmar to work scams. Jela had ended up at a place known as KK Park. The whole park covered an area of about three square miles. Aerial photos show that in 2019, it was all just farmland. But after Myanmar's military coup in 2021, there was no central government or active law enforcement in the area and criminal groups moved in. So even if Jella let people know where she was, it'd be very difficult for anyone to help her. Jella's compound was run by a Chinese crime syndicate. She says that every day when she reported for work, her bosses would take her phone, likely so they could see what she'd been doing or who she'd been talking to. She'd get it back at the end of the day.

[Denise Chan]

There are cameras around the entire compound and all of their monitors as they're working, how they're chatting, who they're chatting with is surveilled as well. So all of their actions are constantly monitored.

[Phoebe Judge]

And what is her working day like? What are the conditions like, so she.

[Denise Chan]

Is working pretty much 14, 16 hours a day. And if they don't reach certain scam quotas, the expectation is to work even more hours and to stay there to work even more hours. And so really, every single day, all she's doing is getting up, working 14, 16 hours, heading straight back to her dorm, resting, then waking up, and doing it all over again. And it's pretty much seven days a week. Every month, they get maybe one or two days off.

[Phoebe Judge]

Their workday was scheduled so they could chat with people in different time zones. And they usually stopped working around 1:00am I mean, is there anything for them to do besides work and sit in their room?

[Denise Chan]

Not really. They work, they sit in their room, they go to the food court to eat, and that's pretty much what their life is.

[Phoebe Judge]

Does she make any friends?

[Denise Chan]

Jella does get really close with her co workers because they spend so much time together. It's a smaller group of maybe 10, 15 people, and many of them she lives together with in the dorm. And so there's really not much separation. And so as a result, they do.

[Phoebe Judge]

Become close every day. Jela had to get at least two people on the dating apps to agree to do a video call, but she says she had a hard time meeting the quota.

[Denise Chan]

Within two weeks, three weeks or so, it's very clear that Jella is not good at this job. And so they try to transfer her to another department. And so she. She starts working a different type of scam, which is a love scam. She's not very good at that either. The goal there is to chat up strangers and eventually get them to fall in love with you and send money over.

[Phoebe Judge]

Denise says that at the compound, there are all kinds of scams, scams targeting people who like to gamble, people who are interested in investing, people who are looking for a loan, and people who are looking for love.

[Denise Chan]

There's a scam for everything. What I've learned from my reporting and talking to many sources is that there is a type of scam for any type of person.

[Phoebe Judge]

The scammers followed detailed scripts, often written by AI. A group of researchers who have investigated scam compounds got access to a handbook which explained how to flirt and get someone's attention. One piece of advice, read, if a girl shares many selfies with a peace gesture, you could open the conversation saying, you look so cute when you're doing the peace sign in your photos. How can a girl say no to a guy who pays attention to details such as her poses? One woman, also from the Philippines Told Denise that she was forced to scam a young university student in the UK out of US$12,000, her tuition money. The student thought she had landed an online job reviewing hotels and just needed to temporarily transfer some money to secure the job. She lost all of it. The scammer told Denise that she just kept wishing the student would stop sending money. Eventually, she broke down in the office, but her boss told her that if she didn't scam this young woman, someone else would. She was told to get back to work. She told Denise she was deeply sorry for what she'd done, but felt like she had no other choice. It's often hard to go after these scam operators because they hide their tracks well. The operators wipe people's phones, so there's no evidence of how they were recruited. And the bosses and recruiters don't use their real names. How much money are these scam factories making?

[Denise Chan]

Some of these companies are bringing out up to $400,000 a week. There can be dozens of companies within even just one building in these compounds. And so we're talking about millions of dollars.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella didn't tell anyone back home about what was going on. She's close with her sister, who's 15 years older, and Jella would text her whenever she could. But Jella says that she'd lie to her sister and say everything was going well at her new job in Thailand.

[Jella]

I don't want them to worry about me, that I was in that dangerous place. I just want them to think that I'm in good condition.

[Denise Chan]

And she's thinking a lot about her dad's health. For instance, her dad has high blood pressure. And so Jella is afraid of, like, if she were to tell him what is really happening with her, how would he react?

[Phoebe Judge]

But then on one of her days off, Jella was sitting in her bunk bed texting with her sister.

[Jella]

First, it's just a normal talk with us chatting each other, like catching up.

[Phoebe Judge]

And then her sister told Jella that her father had asked how she was.

[Jella]

When I hear about my father, I was so weak about my feelings for him. Then there, I started spitting out every detail.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella told her sister that she was forced to scam people every day. She didn't mention the sex torsion. She told her sister that she couldn't leave. She didn't have her passport, and she didn't even know how to get back to the Philippines. The only way out was to pay her bosses US$4,000.

[Jella]

She said that you will live there. We will find A way I'm not usually the person who was asking help from them or asking money from them. And then suddenly I was in that situation where I have nowhere to go and ask for that big amount of money. So it turned out to be a burden for them. I brought myself there and I give them problem. They work so hard for that money.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella's sister told her she would find the money to get her out. And as soon as she could, Jella went to her boss and told him that she wanted to leave. She had the money, but the boss.

[Jella]

Doesn'T allow me to pay. He said, why are you leaving? We need you here. But I said, I want to go home. They said my reason was not valid. Just because I don't want to stay there.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella had been at the compound for about two months, working 14 hour shifts. One night, when she and her co workers were about to finish their shift, their team leader told everybody to come outside.

[Denise Chan]

Her and her co workers shuffle out onto the quad. They're lined up in front of her boss and her team leaders, and the boss basically makes an announcement.

[Phoebe Judge]

The punishments for not meeting the quota would now get more severe. You wouldn't get to eat. But Jela says that wasn't the worst part.

[Jella]

They announced that by next month we will be transferring to a different compound. Another building with a bigger fence, and it has another security guard.

[Denise Chan]

Angella had heard rumors about this compound. This compound was one where they used electric batons. They would actually physically hurt you if you didn't reach quota. And so all of this is a huge blow for Jella, because she was never really good at scamming to begin with. Actually, she hadn't even scammed anyone up until this point.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella made a decision.

[Jella]

I need to leave this compound before we transfer to that compound.

[Phoebe Judge]

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[Denise Chan]

They are doing it on their private phones when they're off work. While they're at work, they're trying to hide it behind chat windows. They're constantly looking over their shoulders, trying to make sure they don't get caught.

[Jella]

Everything about Myanmar escape, we search it. And then right there, we read the name Colonel Matalang.

[Denise Chan]

Colonel Matalong is the police attache for the Philippines Embassy in Bangkok.

[Phoebe Judge]

They read that the colonel had helped other Filipinos escape scam compounds in Myanmar. They decided they needed to get in touch with him.

[Jella]

The whole day. We search for his name on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp.

[Denise Chan]

They find him and they reach out to him. And Colonel Matalan responds and says, yes, I can try to help you all get out of this place.

[Phoebe Judge]

But the colonel couldn't come to Myanmar to help them because of the political situation in the country.

[Denise Chan]

The people who control this land, the land that these compounds are on, are a patchwork of rebel groups. And Colonel Matalong, he As a member of the Philippine government, cannot negotiate directly with rebel groups. However, what he can do is help to assist Jella and her co workers negotiate a release for themselves.

[Phoebe Judge]

The colonel said he would try to guide them, tell them what to do and what to say to try to get out of the compound and out of the country.

[Denise Chan]

The first step is to try and find what he calls a complaint desk.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella had never heard about a complaint desk at the compound. But Col. Matalong explained to Jela and her friends that it wasn't their bosses at the scam compound who ran this complaint desk. It was the Burmese rebel groups who controlled the land that the compounds were on. The rebel groups releasing the land to the Chinese crime syndicates. They were not directly managing what went on inside the compound.

[Denise Chan]

As landlords, they don't want the repercussions or they don't want the the attention of any foreign nationals getting hurt on their land. And so there's an opportunity there for foreign nationals in these places to file a complaint. And so that is what Colonel Matalang is directing Jella and her co workers to do.

[Phoebe Judge]

But Jella and her friends weren't sure how they'd even find the complaint desk. They had no idea where it was or what it looked like. The compound was big and they were constantly being watched. The colonel told them to look for a bamboo hut. But the colonel also said there were no guarantees that any of this would work. And if their bosses found out what they were planning to do, they might hurt them. Jella and nine of her friends decided they were willing to try. They would start looking for the complaint desk the next day. But then the translator who worked at the compound made a comment. Jella says it sounded like the translator knew that they were planning to escape. They decided to go as soon as they could, before the translator got a chance to tell their boss about it. So when their shift ended at 1am, Jela went straight to her dorm.

[Jella]

Only money that I have, I put it inside my sock. I put it inside my underwear. I left all my shoes, my dress, my wallet.

[Phoebe Judge]

She sent a text to her sister back in the Philippines.

[Jella]

Sister, we will escape tonight. If I cannot go home, then this will be my last message.

[Phoebe Judge]

Colonel Matalong had told them that if their boss has caught them trying to escape, they might take their phones and try to extort their family members.

[Jella]

So Jella warned her sister, whatever happens, do not answer. Do not give money. She said that are you sure you're going to go home safe? Are you sure you're Alive. So I answered, I don't know. Then I deleted my message. And then, no more contact.

[Denise Chan]

She deletes all her contacts and puts her phone in her bra. She throws most of her stuff into this black plastic bag, and she and her roommate walk out of the dorm. The plan was to leave in groups of two. So they walk out of the dorm and they kind of point to her black plastic bag that's in her hand to her guard, as if to say, hey, I'm trying to throw this out. So the guard says, okay, go ahead. So the two of them walk towards the trash area. But instead of just stopping there, the two of them keep walking.

[Jella]

I'm scared. My hand is trembling, and I just grab my companion's hand.

[Denise Chan]

They are headed to an area where they had agreed to meet up with their other co workers. They don't know where the complaint desk is, but they're guessing that it's close to, to the gate, the entrance of the compound. And so when the rest of her coworkers finally get to the meeting point, that's when all of them decide, okay, let's just walk towards that area.

[Phoebe Judge]

As they got closer, they saw something just past the main gate. It looked like a bamboo hut. They kept walking.

[Denise Chan]

And they are right, ultimately. And they find the complaint desk and they tell the people there, we want to leave, we want our passports back, and we want to leave.

[Phoebe Judge]

But then Jella's bosses and the translator arrived. It was around 3am the bosses start.

[Denise Chan]

To say everything and anything to get them to stay. They tell them, you know, you're unhappy, but we can work with you. What if we just gave you a day off?

[Jella]

We said no work tomorrow, but the next day we will have to work again and then scam again. We are not scammers.

[Denise Chan]

And the bosses are saying, well, what about if we. We change you to a different department? If you don't like the work that you're doing, why don't I find you a different job? You know, one that, that might work better for you.

[Phoebe Judge]

Colonel Matalong had warned Jell and her friends that their bosses would say anything to get them to come back.

[Jella]

He'd also told them, whatever happened, do not come back to your compound or to your room.

[Denise Chan]

They're going to try very, very hard to negotiate with you, to try to get you back to the compound, to get you to stay. But you need to stand your ground no matter what. Just stay there and demand to get your passport back. Demand and say that you want to leave this place.

[Phoebe Judge]

Jella and her friends did as the colonel told them. They refused to move.

[Jella]

The only thing in my mind is I will escape no matter what.

[Denise Chan]

And so this back and forth happens for hours, and nobody's really relenting. And finally, the group reveals that they are working with the Philippine Embassy and that the Philippine embassy is aware that they are trying to leave. And when the bosses hear that, that's when they decide to give their passports back. Angela and her co workers are given the okay to leave the compound.

[Phoebe Judge]

And then they got in touch with Colonel Matalong at the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, who helped the group find a way out of Myanmar. Some of them didn't have visas, which meant they were in the country illegally and had to cross a river back to Thailand before they could go home. In Jella's case, it turned out that her recruiters weren't lying when they said she had a valid work visa. And so she was able to leave the country by traveling to Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, and from there, get on a plane back to Manila in June of 2023. When she got back, she immediately reported her recruiters to the authorities. She knew the name of at least one of them, a woman in her late 30s. And then in January of 2025, a Chinese actor got a casting call from a Thai entertainment company.

[Denise Chan]

His name is Wong Xing. He had thought that he was going to Thailand for a casting call, only to be tricked and actually driven to one of these compounds in Myanmar and forced a scam.

[Phoebe Judge]

The story got a lot of attention. People started talking about canceling vacations to Thailand, and a famous Hong Kong pop star canceled his show in Bangkok. About a month after Wong Sing disappeared, Thai police found him, and he returned home. And the families of almost 200 people who were missing and believed to be in Myanmar demanded that the authorities do more to find their loved ones, too. And then in February 2025, Thai and Chinese authorities, along with armed Burmese groups, launched an operation that freed more than 7,000 people from scam compounds in Myanmar.

[Denise Chan]

Including actually from KK park, which is the compound that Jello was from. And the people who were released were from countries like China, Ethiopia, Brazil, Philippines.

[Phoebe Judge]

But one person who was released said it wouldn't make a big difference. The scam operations will move to other compounds.

[Denise Chan]

It's a huge human trafficking issue. There are compounds in Cambodia, There are compounds in Dubai. There are compounds in South America, and they're growing really, really fast. In the time that I was reporting on this story, in just a couple months, even looking at these compounds from Google Earth from month one to to month five, new buildings were being built within that span of time.

[Phoebe Judge]

The investigation into the people who recruited Jela and sent her to the scam compound in Myanmar is still pending. Denise Chan hosts the wondry podcast Scam Factory to hear the backstory of Jella's recruiters and how they trapped others like her. Listen to all seven episodes now, wherever you get your podcasts. Next week on Criminal Another Scam, we speak with a woman who found out that her passport had been stolen. She'd just been on a trip abroad, but when she called the police to file a report, things took an unexpected turn. I mean, you talked to the police officer because you you thought you were filing a report about identity theft, and then he says you're a suspect. That must have been shocking. Very to my core. Criminal is created by Lauren Spore and me. Nadia Wilson is our senior producer. Katie Bishop is our supervising producer. Our producers are Susanna Roberson, Jackie Sajiko, Lily Clark, Lena Sillison and Megan Kinane. Our show is mixed and engineered by Veronica Simonetti. Julian Alexander makes original illustrations for each episode of Criminal. You can see [e-mail] and you can sign up for our [e-mail] Newsletter we hope you'll consider supporting our work by joining our membership program Criminal. Plus, you can listen to Criminal, this is Love and Phoebe reads a mystery without any ads. Plus you'll get bonus episodes. These are special episodes with me and Criminal co creator Lauren Spohr talking about everything from how we make our episodes to the crime stories, stories that caught our attention that week, to things we've been enjoying lately. To learn more, go to thisiscriminal.com plus we're on Facebook at thisiscriminal and Instagram @criminal underscore podcast. We're also on YouTube at YouTube.com criminal podcast. Criminal is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Discover more great shows@podcast voxmedia.com I'm Phoebe Judge. This is Criminal.

[Explain It To Me Host]

This month on Explain It To Me, we're talking about all things wellness. We spend nearly $2 trillion on things that are supposed to make us well. Collagen smoothies and cold plunges, Pilates classes and fitness trackers. But what does it actually mean to be well? Why do we want that so badly? And is all this money really making us healthier and happier? That's this month on Explain It To Me, presented by Pure Leaf.

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[Explain It To Me Host]

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