BANGKOK: India was to repatriate 500 of its citizens from Thailand after a crackdown on a Myanmar scam hub led to workers fleeing over the border, the Thai prime minister said Wednesday.
Sprawling compounds where Internet tricksters target people with romance and business cons have thrived along Myanmar’s loosely governed border during its civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup.
Since last week one of the most notorious hubs — KK Park — has been roiled by apparent raids, with hundreds fleeing over the frontier river to the Thai town of Mae Sot.
The upheaval followed an AFP investigation which this month revealed rapid construction at border scam centers, despite a much-publicized crackdown in February.
More than 1,500 people from 28 countries had crossed into Thailand between the start of the crackdown on KK Park and Tuesday evening, according to the administration of the border province of Tak.
“Nearly 500 Indians are at Mae Sot,” Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters. “The Indian government will send a plane to take them back directly.”
Many people staffing the fraud factories say they were trafficked into the hubs, although analysts say workers also go willingly to secure attractive salary offers.
Anutin did not say whether the Indian nationals were being treated as criminals or victims, and the Indian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Experts say Myanmar’s military has long turned a blind eye to scam centers which profit its militia allies who are crucial collaborators in their fight against rebels.
But the junta has also faced pressure to shut down scam operations from its military backer China, irked at its citizens both participating in and being targeted by the scams.
The February crackdown saw around 7,000 workers repatriated and Thailand enforce a cross-border Internet blockade in a bid to throttle off the fraud factories.
India to fly home 500 from Thailand after scam hub raid: Thai PM
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India to fly home 500 from Thailand after scam hub raid: Thai PM
- More than 1,500 people from 28 countries had crossed into Thailand between the start of the crackdown on KK Park and Tuesday evening, according to the administration of the border province of Tak
Norway launches probe of Middle East diplomat and husband over Epstein links
- Mona Juul resigned from her position as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq
- Juul and her husband Terje Rod-Larsen played key roles in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which led to the Oslo Accords
OSLO: Norwegian police said Monday they have launched an “aggravated corruption” investigation against a high-profile diplomat, Mona Juul, and her husband Terje Rod-Larsen, over the couple’s links to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The police economic crime unit Okokrim said in statement that the probe began last week and that an Oslo residence was searched on Monday, as well as a residence belonging to a witness.
“We have launched an investigation to determine whether any criminal offenses have been committed. We are facing a comprehensive and, by all accounts lengthy investigation,” Okokrim chief Pal Lonseth, said.
Juul, 66, and Rod-Larsen, 78, played key roles in the secret Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which led to the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s.
Epstein left $10 million in his will to the couple’s two children, according to Norwegian media.
“Among other things, Okokrim will investigate whether she received benefits in connection to her position,” the statement said.
On Sunday, the foreign ministry announced that Juul had resigned from her position as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq.
“Juul’s contact with the convicted abuser Epstein has shown a serious lapse in judgment,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in connection to the announcement.
She had already been temporarily suspended last week pending an internal investigation by the ministry into her alleged links to Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
Norway’s political and royal circles have been thrust into the eye of the Epstein storm, including the CEO of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende.
Former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland, is also being investigated for “aggravated corruption” over links to Epstein while he was chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee — which awards the Nobel Peace Prize — and as secretary general of the Council of Europe.
Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has also come under scrutiny for her relationship with Epstein, which on Friday she said she “deeply regretted.”
On Monday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store voiced support for the establishing of an independent commission set up by Parliament, to fully examine the nature of the ties between these figures and Epstein.
