{
  "id": 4575129,
  "title": "Lured online, sold for $5,000: How Nigerian youths are trapped in Asia’s cyber-slave camps (1)",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/lured-online-sold-for-5-000-how-nigerian-youths-are-trapped-in-asias",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T05:20:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/lured-online-sold-for-5000-how-nigerian-youths-are-trapped-in-asias-cyber-slave-camps-1/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sabiu, a Nigerian youth from Borno State, found himself trapped in a cybercrime camp in Southeast Asia after being promised a job in Laos. His passport was taken away and his savings were stolen, leaving him in the hands of armed guards who forced him to scam strangers online. Sabiu endured months of survival, sleeping on bus station benches and selling marijuana, barely making enough to afford a plate of noodles. He attempted suicide once but only suffered diarrhea. Sabiu's journey began with a scholarship to study engineering in China, which he refused to return to after discovering the scholarship only covered one year. He then worked as an English teacher and cargo inspector in Guangzhou, but his student visa prohibited him from working legally in China. Desperate, he met a Chinese businessman named Wang Xu, who offered him a job as a telecom representative in Laos. Sabiu, despite his misgivings, accepted the offer as the job seemed legitimate. Traffickers now target intelligent youths with IT skills, and the Southeast Asian route offers a more lucrative opportunity for them compared to domestic servitude in the Middle East.",
  "summary": "Discover how Nigerian youths are lured online and sold into brutal cyber-slave camps in Southeast Asia, facing forced labor and despair. Read More: https://punchng.com/lured-online-sold-for-5000-how-nigerian-youths-are-trapped-in-asias-cyber-slave-camps-1/",
  "key_points": [
    "Nigerian youth Sabiu lured online into cybercrime camp in Southeast Asia",
    "Passport taken, savings stolen, forced to scam online for $5,000",
    "Sabiu attempted suicide, survived on minimal sustenance and marijuana"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Traffickers targeting youths with IT skills, like Sabiu, signals a shift to exploiting a more lucrative and tech-savvy pool of victims for cybercrime operations in Southeast Asia.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Lured online, sold for $5,000: How Nigerian youths are trapped in Asia’s cyber-slave camps (1)",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/lured-online-sold-for-5-000-how-nigerian-youths-are-trapped-in-asias-4580935",
        "published": "2026-08-31T05:38:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}