BANGKOK, April 10. /TASS/. Law enforcement agencies from Thailand, Myanmar and China have freed about 9,000 people forced to work at fraudulent call centers in Myanmar, said Nikondet Phalangkun, Director General of the Information Department and press secretary of the Thai Foreign Ministry.
"As of April 8, the Thai side received more than 8,900 foreign citizens rescued from Myanmar, of whom more than 7,100 were returned to their homeland. The largest group consists of Chinese citizens - more than 5,400 people, followed by Indonesia (653) and India (549). The Foreign Ministry continues to work with the embassies involved to facilitate the repatriation of the remaining foreigners," he said.
In February, Thailand cut off electricity to five Myanmar border regions where fraudulent call centers are located. The kingdom said that the problem of telephone and Internet fraud has caused serious damage to the country - more than 500,000 Thais were victimized by criminals from 2022 to 2024, to the tune of over 60 billion baht ($1.8 billion). An estimated 17,000 people may have wrangled by criminals into working at the call centers in Myanmar, about 10,000 of them Chinese citizens. About 1,200 people have been flown home from Thailand to China every week since February 20.
Myanmar's online fraud call centers are known for employing foreigners who claim that the attackers tricked them into working there. Border patrol agents working for Myanmar's Kayin State had previously said they were preparing to deport to Thailand about 10,000 people associated with fraudulent call centers located near the border with Thailand.