Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced on Wednesday that approximately 7,000 individuals have been rescued from illegal call center operations in Myanmar and are awaiting transfer to Thailand, marking the start of a major crackdown on fraudulent centers along the Thai border.
Following this declaration, Thai police indicated their preparations to welcome as many as 10,000 foreigners freed from a vast network of notorious scam centers.
In recent years, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, which are neighbors to Thailand, have emerged as hubs for transnational criminal organizations conducting online scam operations, including romance scams, fake investment opportunities, and illicit gambling schemes.
“It’s massive, and there are thousands of people who have been brought in, typically through Thailand, so it would be a huge move to clean out the compounds and scams,” stated Jeremy Douglas of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) prior to the prime minister’s confirmation.
According to Douglas, the Myawaddy border area in Myanmar, where the foreign nationals are likely to be released, hosts one of the largest clusters of scam operations in the region and possibly the world.
These criminal operations have become increasingly international, luring victims from across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East into forced labor within scam rings.
In 2023 alone, scams targeting individuals in East and Southeast Asia led to financial losses estimated between $18 billion and $37 billion, according to the UN.
The UN has identified that approximately 120,000 individuals in Myanmar and an additional 100,000 in Cambodia might be trapped in conditions where they are forced to perpetuate profitable online scams, often under the guise of lucrative employment opportunities.
This year, Thailand has intensified efforts to dismantle these operations, highlighted by the abduction of Chinese actor Wang Xing into Myanmar in January. Wang was kidnapped following his arrival in Thailand under the pretense of attending a film casting with producers.
This month, Thai authorities cut off internet, electricity, and fuel supplies to five areas in Myanmar known for criminal activities.
Douglas noted that the Myanmar military’s border guard force, which oversees Myawaddy, faced considerable pressure to act against these scam operations.
The situation has escalated to a critical point, compelling the border guard force to intervene and shut down the scam compounds, he explained.
General Traisak Intarassamee, secretary to the defense minister, reported that about 200 Chinese nationals are set to return to China on a China Southern Airlines flight on Thursday.
Last week, around 260 individuals involved in scam operations were deported from Myanmar, as reported by the Thai Army. This group consisted of people from 20 different nationalities, including 138 Ethiopians.
Rescued Malaysians shared their harrowing experiences of being electrocuted, caned, and confined in dark rooms for failing to meet the scam company’s quotas.
“There were extreme beatings, lots of bruising, and broken bones,” said Judah Tana, international director of the anti-human trafficking NGO Global Advance Projects. “It’s horrific to see them. It’s as if they have walked out of a minefield or a war zone.”
