South Korean authorities announced on Monday that they plan to take into custody the majority of the 64 citizens recently brought back from Cambodia, following accusations that they participated in large-scale online scam operations while based in the Southeast Asian nation.

The police have filed requests to the courts to detain 58 of the repatriated citizens, while one is already held in custody, they said in a statement.

The United Nations says the scam centres, which emerged in Southeast Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic and target victims around the world with phone and online scams, generate billions of dollars in revenue every year for criminal networks.

It estimates hundreds of thousands of people are working in the centres, some lured with the promise of a well-paid job but m

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