The mothers of eight women duped into working as prostitutes in Nigeria have sought help from the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women to rescue their daughters.
It was reported they were accompanied by foundation president Pavena Hongsakul in seeking help from Treethep Nopphakhun, acting director of the Consular Affairs Department's Protection of Thai Nationals Division, to rescue the women and 12 other victims in Nigeria.
According to Ms Pavena, the mums said their daughters responded to job offers advertised on Facebook to work as masseuses in Nigeria for a monthly salary of 50,000 baht with no expenses to pay during their employment.
A Thai woman and her Nigerian husband allegedly operate the parlour. The victims flew to Nigeria in the middle of May.
The women received a full salary for the first month of work. In the months that followed, they received half the agreed wage, Ms Pavena said.
They want to return to Thailand, but their employer refused and confiscated their passports, telling them they needed to pay off the cost of bringing them over to Nigeria before they were free to leave.
All were confined, beaten and forced to work as prostitutes along with 12 other women who were also duped into working there, she added.
Some of them texted their mothers for help although it was unclear where the women were sending their messages from.
Ms Pavena said she will coordinate with the Nigerian embassy in Thailand to follow up on the matter and help arrange for their rescue. She also warned Thai women to be aware of job scams posted on Facebook.
So far this year, the foundation has received complaints from 115 victims who were duped into working as prostitutes in other countries.
