Investigators have now rescued 550 fisherman slaves from a remote Indonesian island after returning to the scene of an earlier rescue to check nobody was left behind . A dramatic rescue earlier in the week led to 210 mainly-Burmese nationals being identified , the vast majority of whom said they were desperate to leave the island village of Benjina . Those who said they wanted to stay did so because they claimed they were owed years of back pay from their bosses . An in-depth investigation by The Associated Press published last month led to the discovery of massive rights abuses in Benjina and surrounding waters . The report traced slave-caught seafood from there to Thailand where it can then enter the supply chains of some of U.S. retailers . Slaves : A dramatic rescue earlier in the week led to many of the mainly-Burmese nationals being identified , the vast majority of whom said they were desperate to leave the the island village of Benjina . Rescued : Last week , Indonesian authorities rescued around 330 migrants from Benjina , bringing them to the island of Tual , where they are now being sheltered by the government . Many of the men interviewed said they were tricked or even kidnapped before being put on boats in Thailand and taken to Indonesia . They were forced to work almost non-stop under horrendous conditions , some brutally beaten by their Thai captains when they were sick or caught resting . Last week , Indonesian authorities rescued around 330 migrants from Benjina , bringing them to the island of Tual , where they are now being sheltered by the government . Those found Thursday by a team , which included Myanmar officials , remain in Benjina . While most fisherman found in Benjina were Burmese , there also were scores of Cambodians . The toll of 550 did not include men - many of whom also were enslaved - from poor parts of Thailand . Shocking : Many of the men interviewed said they were tricked or even kidnapped before being put on boats in Thailand and taken to Indonesia . Export : The report traced slave-caught seafood from there to Thailand where it can then enter the supply chains of some of American retailers . It 's unclear who will pay for the mass repatriation . A former slave now in Tual said conditions were relatively good there . He said the men are getting medical care and enough to eat , but their living quarters are cramped and many do not have a change of clothes since they left quickly with only what they were wearing . Meanwhile , Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday told reporters in her country 's capital , Naypyitaw , it was up to governments 'to protect the rights of the citizens and to bring them back out of bondage . ' 'That is the most obvious and very simple solution and unavoidable duty of any responsible government , ' she told reporters .
Dramatic rescue led to the mainly-Burmese nationals being identified . Vast majority of them said they were desperate to leave Tual . Some wanted to stay - but only to demand their bosses hand over money . Men said they were kidnapped or tricked into becoming fisherman slaves .