A blitz on the cyber fraud industry along Myanmar’s border with Thailand has led to the rescue of around 10,000 scam workers, with the first planes carrying Chinese nationals departing on Thursday in a high-profile operation to show that the crime syndicates behind the illegal trade are being dismantled.
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But questions persist regarding the long-term effectiveness of the crackdown on an illicit industry that generates tens of billions of dollars annually, primarily benefiting alleged Chinese crime bosses – and their apparent protectors in border regions controlled by warlords and ethnic armed militias.
The Myawaddy area of Myanmar is one of the world’s largest bases for scamming, with dozens of companies staffed by recruits from across the world.
Many have been duped by fake job offers which instead resulted in them being forced to commit phone and online fraud, under the threat of torture.
Under pressure from China, Thailand had pulled internet links and fuel supplies to the border hubs, while an ethnic armed group – and a powerful border force allied with the Myanmar junta – said they had taken down numerous scam operations over recent weeks.
China’s Public Security Assistant Minister Liu Zhongyi met Thai ministers in Bangkok on Wednesday to help seal the return of the first group of around 600 Chinese nationals.