U.N. Report: Transnational Gangs Use Drugs, Cybercrime, and Slavery to Loot Southeast Asia

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published a report on Tuesday that found transnational gangs looted at least $88 billion from Southeast Asia in 2025, using a wide variety of telephone and cyber scams, often employing slave labor at notorious “scam centers” that resemble prison camps.