Chinese model Yang Zeqi appears to have gone missing after flying to Thailand late in December to act in a film. (Weibo: Ms Mou)
In short:
There are fears that Chinese model Yang Zeqi has become the latest victim of a human-trafficking ring operating in Myanmar along the Thailand border.
Hundreds of thousands of people remain stuck in virtual slavery after being lured to the area only to be forced into working in covert scam centres.
Chinese actor Wang Xing was rescued from a scam centre in Myanmar after a plea for help went viral online.
It was every budding actor's dream — a message congratulating him on a successful audition for a role in a film.
Shortly after receiving the message on WeChat, Chinese model Yang Zeqi quickly flew to Thailand, where the film was to be shot.
After landing in Bangkok, he was driven to the Thai-Myanmar border in a car provided by the film crew.
But just a day after he landed, he sent his friends a message saying he was "depressed".
Eight days later, on December 29, he made a strange video call to his mother.
Yang Zeqi was last seen during a video call with his mother in which he was wearing a black outfit and sitting on a chair with what appeared to be an injured eye. (Weibo: Ms Mou)
In it, he was wearing a black outfit and sitting on a chair with his hands on the table with what appeared to be an injured eye.
That was the last time anyone heard from Yang Zeqi before his phone was turned off.
There are now grave fears he could be latest victim of a human-trafficking ring that is feeding scam centres in Myanmar's lawless borderlands and forcing victims to become scammers.
Whisked across the border and forced to scam
The disappearance of Yang Zeqi and a female Chinese national came just days after Thai police rescued a small-time Chinese actor from a scam centre in the Myanmar town of Myawaddy.
Wang Xing, 31, had also travelled to Thailand on the promise of acting work that he was offered on WeChat.
He had filmed in Thailand before, so he did not think twice about flying to Bangkok on January 3.
Chinese actor Wang Xing spoke at a press conference with Thai police after being rescued from a criminal syndicate scam centre operating in the Myanmar town of Myawaddy. (AP: The Royal Thai Police)
He was met at the airport by a person posing as a film crew member and then driven about 500 kilometres north to Mae Sot, ostensibly to the "filming location" where he lost contact with friends and family.
From there he was taken into Myanmar, where his head was shaved and he was forced to undergo training on how to scam people over the phone.
He was only rescued after a plea for help went viral online.
Desperate for answers after two agonising days, his girlfriend had turned to the internet.
"We have no choice but to borrow the power of the internet to amplify our voices," she wrote on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
A plea for help posted online by Wang Xing's girlfriend was picked up by some of China's biggest celebrities, leading to his eventual rescue. (AP: The Royal Thai Police)
Her plea was picked up by some of China's biggest celebrities including signer Lay Zhang, actor Qin Lan and rapper Zhang Yixing.
Two days after that, Wang was rescued from a scam centre in Myawaddy.
Thai police have stressed that no Thai nationals were involved in the trafficking and the government has attempted to reassure the public that the country is safe, but the cases have exposed a growing and disturbing problem in South East Asia.
Thousands stuck in virtual slavery trap
A report by the United States Institute of Peace last year found a total of 305,000 scammers in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos accounted for $US39 billion ($63.4 billion) in stolen funds annually.
They also found deep ties to Chinese criminal networks.
Singapore plans to control scam victims' bank transactions
Photo shows A man withdraws cash from an ATM in Singapore
Since Myanmar's coup in February 2021, scam centres have blossomed and thrived in the area along the border with Thailand.
In partnership with various armed groups competing for power, criminal syndicates have built new scam compounds near the town of Myawaddy.
There, they have forced thousands of people into participating in online scams including fake romance schemes, illegal gambling and bogus investments ploys.
As well as the two new Chinese nationals who have disappeared, hundreds of thousands of victims from countries such as Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore remain stuck in virtual slavery with little hope of rescue.
Luring in hopeful actors and models with acting roles appears to be the syndicates' latest tactic.
After Wang's miraculous rescue, other actors started sharing their experiences of fake film crews trying to trick them into travelling to Thailand with the promise of work.
Xu Dajiu said he narrowly escaped a similar situation and warned others against accepting offers to film in Thailand.
"After I got off the plane in Bangkok, the person who picked me up was trying to confiscate my passport, but I refused," he said, adding that the fake crew then cancelled his return flight to China.
He later contacted the real director of the production and confirmed the casting advertisement was fake.
Another actor, Fan Hu, reportedly also received an invitation from a person claiming to work for a Thai studio, offering him a leading role in a TV series.
He said the scammer had even offered him a summary of the plot, locations and shooting dates as well as the name of the director.
An hour after sending his audition tape, the offer was finalised and he flew to Bangkok on December 28.
From there, he was taken to a hotel but became suspicious so he reached out to the director, who confirmed he had nothing to do with the project.
He managed to escape by pretending to go out to enjoy Bangkok's nightlife and is now safely back in China.
