Thailand rescues 260 trafficked workers from Myanmar scam centres

A Thai army video showed a boat carrying the rescued people arriving in Tak province, near Thailand’s border with Myanmar, on Thursday. According to Thai media accounts, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, a Myanmar ethnic militia that controlled the area where the workers were detained, played an important part in their liberation and transportation to the border.

Thailand’s military reported that 260 people alleged to have been trafficked and forced to work in internet scam centers will be repatriated after being recovered in Myanmar. This operation is part of a renewed assault on fraud centers throughout Southeast Asia.

Thailand’s neighbors, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, are well-known for being havens for crime syndicates. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people were coerced by these organizations into falling for a variety of internet frauds, such as false investment possibilities, illicit gaming operations, and phony romantic schemes.