Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
I'm Darren Marler and this is a weird Darkness bonus bite.
Sometimes the most dangerous predators come disguised as exactly what
their victims desperately want to see. This particular story began
in October twenty twenty four in Gangzhou, China, where a
young man's search for connection would lead him into one
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of Southeast Asia's most brutal criminal enterprises. The nineteen year
old from xiang Xiong, known in court documents as Wang,
first noticed her at a recreational center's pool hall. The
seventeen year old girl identified as Zhao stood out immediately.
She wore revealing outfits that caught attention, carried what appeared
to be designer handbags, though her victim's sister later described
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them as having a knockoff feel, and spoke constantly about
her wealthy family. Zaou claimed her parents were investment managers
from Fujian Province. She told Wang they owned businesses across
China and Mayan, mar dropping hints about lucrative opportunities overseas.
Her stories grew more elaborate each time they met. The
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family supposedly had ventures spanning multiple countries, connections to important people,
and most significantly, a thriving operation in mayan Mar that
always needed workers. Wang's sister would later describe her brother
as a typical love sick person with a history of
falling hard and fast. Zhao recognized this vulnerability immediately. Within
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weeks of meeting, she convinced Wog to move into her
rented apartment in Wangzhou. The speed should have raised alarms,
but Wang, unemployed and infatuated, saw only opportunity. My early
twenty twenty five, Zhou's campaign intensified. She repeatedly mentioned how
her family's Mayan Mar business desperately needed trustworthy employees. The
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pay would be excellent, she promised, could work together build
a future. All Wang needed to do was trust her
enough to make the journey. On February two, twenty twenty five,
the couple bordered a flight to Bangkok. Wang had not
told his family about the trip. They discovered his whereabouts
only through his social media posts showing him in Thailand.
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His relatives grew concerned when subsequent posts revealed the couple
traveling toward the Thailand Mayanmar border region, an area notorious
for human trafficking and criminal operations. The journey to the
border took them through increasingly remote areas. Ziao remained cheerful
and affectionate throughout, maintaining the illusion even as armed men
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appeared at their designated meeting point. These weren't the business
associates she had described. They carried weapons openly and immediately
demanded Wong surrenderous passport and mobile phone. Zhou's demeanor shifted instantly.
She announced she needed to pick someone up nearby and
simply walked away, leaving Wong surrounded by armed strangers. The
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men didn't explain anything. They simply forced him into a
vehicle and drove deeper into Myyan mar The destination was
a facility known as the Kaijuan Compound, one of many
scam operations that dot the Myanmar borderlands. These compounds operate
like prison camps, filled with trafficking victims forced to commit
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online fraud against targets worldwide. Wong's captors shaved his head
immediately upon arrival, standard practice to mark new arrivals and
to break their sense of identity. The compound's operation was
brutally efficient. Victims sat at computers for sixteen to twenty
hours daily, running romance scams, investment frauds, and cryptocurrency schemes.
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Each worker received daily quotas for successful scams completed. Missing
these quotas triggered immediate punishment. Wong proved terrible at defrauding people.
His attempts to scam fellow Chinese citizens consistently failed. Each
failure brought consequences. Guards beat him with iron rods across
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his back and waist. They developed a particular focus on
slapping his ears repeatedly, a torture method that would leave
permanent damage. When beatings didn't improve his performance, they locked
him in a small dark room without food. The physical
deterioration happened quickly. Within weeks, Wang's weight began dropping precipitously.
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The combination of starvation, sleep deprivation, and constant abuse took
its toll. By the end of his first month, he
could barely recognize himself in reflections. Wang's one stroke of
luck came through manipulation. He begged Zao, still in contact
with the compound operators, to let him use her phone,
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briefly claiming he wanted to play mobile games. She agreed,
perhaps confident he was too broken to attempt to escape. Dead,
Wang frantically messaged his family with his location and situation.
Before the phone was taken away again, his sister received
the message people with guns had taken him. He was
being held in Mayan mar He needed help. Immediately. The
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family contacted Chinese police, who confirmed their worst fears. Wang
had fallen victim to a trafficking ring that had ensnared
thousands of Chinese citizens. The scam compound operators, realizing Wang
would never generate profit through fraud work, switched tactics. They
contacted his family directly, demanding compensation for their investment. The
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initial price Zau received for selling Wang was one hundred
thousand yen roughly fourteen thousand dollars US, but releasing him
would cost far more. Negotiations dragged through spring of twenty
twenty five. The compound operators initially demanded astronomical sums, knowing
families would pay anything to retrieve loved ones. With a
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resistance from the Chaoshan Chamber of Commerce in may and Mar,
an organization that helps mediate releases of trafficking victims, Wang's
family negotiated the ransom down to three hundred and fifty
thousand yen approximately forty nine thousand dollars US. Gathering such
a sum required the entire extended family to contribute. Relatives
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sold assets, emptied savings accounts, and borrowed money. Four months
after his abduction, in June twenty twenty five, the payment
finally went through. When Wog emerged from the compound, his
transformation was shocking. He had lost ten kilograms about twenty
two pounds. His hearing was permanently damaged from the repeated
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ear beatings. Beyond the physical damage, psychological wounds ran deeper.
He suffered constant nightmares about his captivity. Paranoia consumed him.
He couldn't shape the fear that someone would snatch him again.
While Wong endured months of torture, Zao spent ten days
vacationing in Thailand. She posted on social media, shopped and
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lived as if nothing had happened. Chinese authorities tracked her
movements and waited. When she crossed back into China, police
arrested her immediately. The evidence against Zoo was overwhelming. Digital
records showed the one hundred thousand yen payment from the
trafficking ring. Messages revealed her deliberate deception of Wong. Witnesses
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at the compound could testify to her delivering him directly
to his captors. Prosecutors charged Zoo with telecommunications fraud and
human trafficking. Under Chinese law, anyone who assists telecom fraud
operations faces severe penalties, even if they don't personally run scams.
China implemented these harsh laws in twenty sixteen, specifically to
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combat the proliferation of overseas scam compounds that prey on
Chinese citizens. Wang's story represents just one thread and a
vast criminal tapestry. Thousands of scam compounds operate across Mayan, Maar, Cambodia,
and Laos. These facilities hold in estimated hundreds of thousands
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of trafficking victims from across Asia. The compounds generate billions
in revenue through online fraud, making them powerful enough to
operate with near impunity in regions where government control remains weak.
The business model depends on a steady supply of fresh victims.
Some are kidnapped outright, others answer fake job advertisements, but
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cases like wongs where victims are sold by people they trust,
are increasingly common. The traffickers pay bounties for delivered victims,
creating a perverse incentive system. Young women like Zal become recruiters.
Using romance as bait. They target vulnerable men, those who
are unemployed, lonely, or simply naive about the dangers. The girl.
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Fans maintain the deception until the moment of handover, ensuring
victims come willingly to their doom. Zhou's trial, initially scheduled
for July twenty twenty five, was postponed due to the
complexity of gathering evidence from Mayan Mark. Chinese authorities face
challenges prosecuting cases involving crimes committed across borders, especially in
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regions controlled by criminal organizations. If convicted, Zhou faces up
to ten years in prison. Her age, just seventeen at
the time of the crime, may factor into sentencing, though
Chinese law allows prosecution of minors for serious offenses. Her
victim's family hopes for the maximum penalty. Still struggling to
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comprehend how a teenager could orchestrate such cruelty, Wong continues
recovering at home, though recovery seems an inadequate word. He
jumps at unexpected sounds, he avoids leaving the house. The
hearing loss serves as a permanent reminder of his ordeal.
His sister told reporters that her brother requires constant reassurance
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that he is safe, that no one will take him again.
The family's financial situation remains dire. The three hundred and
fifty thousand yen ransom left them deeply in debt. Medical
treatments for Wong's injuries adds more expenses. The economic devastation
compounds the trauma a double victimization that many trafficking survivors face.
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Me and Mar's scam compounds continue operating despite international pressure.
Political instability in the country, particularly since the military coup
of twenty twenty one, created perfect conditions for criminal enterprises
to flourish. The compounds exist in a legal gray zone,
protected by local authorities who profit from their operations. Recent
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conflicts in My and Mar have disrupted some compounds, leading
to mass releases of trafficking victims, but others simply relocate
or strengthen their defenses. As long as online fraud remains
profitable and vulnerable victims exist, the compounds will persist. Chinese
authorities have pursued aggressive repatriation efforts, sometimes conducting cross border
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operations to rescue citizens. They've also implemented public awareness campaigns
warning about recruitment tactics. Yet cases like Wongs continue surfacing regularly,
suggesting the warnings aren't reaching everyone who needs them. The
technology enabling these crimes evolves constantly. Scam compounds now use
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artificial intelligence to craft more convincing frauds. They employ sophisticated
psychological manipulation techniques developed through years of practice. The criminal
networks share strategies and resources, creating an entire industry built
on human misery. For every Wong who escapes, unknown numbers
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remain trapped work until they are no longer useful, then disappear.
Others break psychologically and never recover. The lucky ones might
eventually earn their freedom through successful scamming, becoming complicit in
the very system that enslaved them. The romance angle adds
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particular cruelty to these operations. Victims like Wong don't just
lose money or freedom, They lose their ability to trust others.
The person they loved most in the world sold them
into slavery for fourteen thousand dollars. How does someone recover
from that betrayal? How do they ever trust romantic partners again.
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Zoo's case raises uncomfortable questions about culpability and coercion at seventeen?
Was she fully responsible for her actions? Did someone recruit
and train her for this role? The criminal networks often
use women precisely because their age and appearance lower victims
guard But where does victimization end and perpetrician begin. These
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questions matter beyond this single case. As trafficking networks grow sophisticated,
they blur the lines between victim and criminal. Today's trafficked
person might become tomorrow's trafficker, perpetuating cycles of exploitation that
span generations and borders. Wong's story ended with his freedom,
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but freedom is relative. He lives with permanent injuries, psychological trauma,
and the knowledge that someone he loved viewed him as
worth exactly one hundred thousand yen. His family sacrificed their
financial security for his release. The girl who betrayed him
faces prison, but remains young enough to rebuild her life
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after serving her sentence. The scam compound that held Wang
continues operating. New victims arrive, regularly, sold by friends, lovers,
or simply kidnapped off the streets. They'll face the same
dark rooms, the same iron bars, the same impossible quotas.
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Some will survive and escape, many won't. This is the
reality of modern human trafficking, not dramatic kidnappings by strangers,
but careful manipulation by people victims trust. It happens through
dating apps and social media, at pool halls and cafes,
anywhere lonely people seek connection. The predators look like potential partners, friends,
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or employers. They offer exactly what their victims want most, love, opportunity,
a better future. By the time victims realize the truth,
they're across borders, documents confiscated, surrounded by guards. Their families
receive ransom demands, their captors force them to victimize others.
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The cycle continues, beeding on human vulnerability and desire for connection.
Wong survived his ordeal, but thousands still remain trapped. Their
stories won't make headlines, Their families may never raise enough ransom.
They'll disappear into the machinery of organized crime, ground down
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until nothing remains but another empty computer station, waiting for
the next victim to fill the seat. If you'd like
to read the story for yourself, I've placed a link
to this article in the episode description, and you can
find more stories of the paranormal, true crime, strange, and
more at Weird Darkness dot com slash news