BANGKOK: Thai and Cambodian police raided a building in a border town and freed 215 foreigners, a senior Thai official said on Sunday, in an expansion of a regional crackdown against cyber scam centers.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centers and illegal online operations across Southeast Asia, according to the United Nations. A UN report in 2023 estimated that the fast-growing operations generate billions of dollars annually.
The Sunday raid targeted a three-story building in the Cambodian border town of Poipet in Banteay Meanchey province. The rescued foreigners included 109 Thais, 50 Pakistanis, 48 Indians, five Taiwanese and three Indonesians, Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said on Sunday.
“This is the largest number of Thais freed from a building suspected of cyber fraud for the two countries,” Jirayu said.
The raid was the result of a joint effort by Thailand and Cambodia to tackle scam centers, he said.
Scam centers have been operating for years. But they now face new scrutiny after the rescue of Chinese actor, Wang Xing, who was lured to Thailand with the promise of a job, and then abducted and taken to a scam center in Myanmar.
Southeast Asian countries have stepped up efforts to tackle scam centers with recent actions along the Thai-Myanmar border. Earlier this month, Thailand cut power, fuel and Internet supply to areas linked with scam centers.
China also repatriated 621 of its nationals rescued from scam centers in those areas over the past few days, the Thai army said on Saturday.
Pakistanis among 215 foreigners freed by Thai, Cambodian police in scam center raid
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Pakistanis among 215 foreigners freed by Thai, Cambodian police in scam center raid
- Rescued foreigners included 109 Thais, 50 Pakistanis, 48 Indians, five Taiwanese and three Indonesians, Thai government said
- Hundreds of thousands trafficked by criminal gangs, forced to work in scam centers, illegal online operations across Southeast Asia
Pakistan expresses solidarity with Canada as school shooting claims 9 lives
- At least 9 dead, 27 wounded in shooting incident at secondary school, residence in British Columbia on Tuesday
- Officials say the shooter was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after the incident
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Canada as a high school shooting incident in a British Columbia town left at least nine dead, more than 20 others injured.
Six people were found at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School while a seventh died on the way to the hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement on Tuesday. Two other people were found dead at a home that police believe is connected to the shooting at the school. A total of 27 people were wounded in the attack.
In an initial emergency alert, police described the suspect as a “female in a dress with brown hair,” with officials saying she was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“Saddened by the tragic shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
He conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery to those injured in the attack.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people and Government of Canada in this difficult time,” he added.
Canadian police have not yet released any information about the age of the shooter or the victims.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the violence, announcing he had suspended plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference on Wednesday.
While mass shootings are rare in Canada, last April, a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver killed 11 people.
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the latest violence “unimaginable.”
Nina Krieger, British Columbia’s minister of public safety, described it as one of the “worst mass shootings” in Canada’s history.
