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.