More than 260 foreign nationals have been rescued from online scam operations in Myanmar and handed over to authorities in Thailand. The rescue is part of an escalating crackdown on human trafficking and cyber fraud along the two countries’ border.
A Myanmar insurgent group, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, which recently raided scam centers in the region, handed the victims over to Thai authorities on Feb. 12.
DKBA Chief of Staff Major Saw San Aung told VOA’s Burmese Service in a telephone interview that the group’s forces raided casinos in Myawaddy District, Karen State, in search of trafficked foreign workers.
“On February 11, we identified 261 victims and transferred them to Thai authorities on February 12,” he said.
“We are handing over everyone we find today, but the process is difficult. The [Myanmar] junta’s immigration department is making demands, and the terrain is challenging. We have to retrieve the victims ourselves before transferring them to the nearest Thai authorities,” Major Saw San Aung said.
A rescue worker and eyewitness who requested anonymity for security reasons told VOA in a phone interview on Wednesday that online scam gangs force victims of trafficking “to meet monthly earnings targets of up to $50,000. If they failed, they were tortured. They were only allowed to sleep for two to three hours a day and worked nonstop. They were kept in dark cells and subjected to continuous abuse.”
Thai officials confirmed that the rescued individuals were taken by boat to Phop Phra, Thailand, before being moved to a secure facility.
China pressured to crack down on scammers
Tensions between China and Myanmar escalated after Chinese actor Wang Xing was abducted and held captive in Myanmar in January, before eventually being rescued from scam centers in Myawaddy.
In response to this incident, China pressured Thailand to crack down on scam networks operating in the region.
This pressure is widely believed to be a key factor behind Thailand’s decision to cut off electricity and fuel supplies to Myanmar, significantly impacting areas controlled by ethnic Karen armed groups.
The Wednesday handover follows another transfer on Feb. 6 when Myanmar’s ruling junta and another armed group, the Karen Border Guard Force handed over 61 trafficked individuals, including 39 Chinese nationals, to Thai custody.
Among those rescued and returned on Thursday, many were from Africa, including 46 Ethiopians and 33 Kenyans, according to the DKBA.
In recent days, Myanmar’s military leadership has also highlighted its efforts to crackdown on illegal online gambling and scam operations in cooperation with the international community.
In audio message shared with the news media last Friday, military junta spokesperson General Zaw Min Tun said many victims of trafficking were lured with promises of high-paying jobs in computer-related and translation fields.
“They were deceived by the prospect of high salaries and good working conditions. Most of them arrived in Mae Sot from Bangkok before being taken across the border illegally by online money-laundering gangs,” General Zaw Min Tun said.
Myawaddy: haven for scam syndicates
Myawaddy, located in Karen State along the Thai border, is controlled by Karen armed groups, including the DKBA and the Karen BGF, the latter was previously aligned with the Myanmar military.
The BGF-controlled town of Shwe Kokko in particular has turned into a notorious hub for online fraud.
As of May 2022, reports indicated that 1,225 Chinese nationals, along with individuals from Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, and the Philippines, were trafficked into Shwe Kokko to work in online scam operations. These victims were lured by fake job offers and later forced into online fraud schemes.
Since the Karen BGF severed ties with the Myanmar military and rebranded itself as the Karen National Army last year, the scam operations have faced increased scrutiny.
The U.S. Institute of Peace has warned that online scams originating from Southeast Asia, particularly Myanmar, are a major security threat and cause significant financial losses in the U.S.
In 2023, USIP estimated that Americans lost $3.5 billion to scams from the region. These scams, including forced labor, scams using romantic relationships and other financial crimes, target U.S. residents through fraudulent job applications and false high-tech job ads.
Aye Aye Mar from VOA’s Burmese Service contributed to this report.