Thousands of call centre victims in Myanmar to be released

[reader]

From The Nation

The Thai and Myanmar governments are working together to repatriate 261 Thai nationals who had been deceived into work for call centre scamming gangs in Myanmar’s border towns, Deputy PM and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Wednesday.

He said that about 7,000 more victims in Myanmar will be the next to be repatriated, adding that the Thai government would coordinate with their home countries to arrange direct transport so they do not find themselves stuck in Tak province after release.

Phumtham said the government has contacted embassies of countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, including Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia regarding the repatriation of their citizens held in Myanmar.

He added that after release, these victims will be separated by nationality and then immediately transported to their homelands on chartered flights without having to stay in Thailand.

Phumtham added that he received a report that Myanmar’s Border Guard Force (BGF) had resolved to crack down on Chinese gangs operating in Myawaddy township, which are estimated to involve around 10,000 individuals.

The report said BGF commanders met on Wednesday in a session chaired by leader Col Saw Chit Thu and resolved to use Thailand as a passageway to extradite these gang members back to China.

Over a period of 20 days, the BGF planned to send 500 persons per day to Thailand via the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Tak’s Mae Sot district, pending approval from the Thai government.

The crackdown operation would start from Thursday (February 13), in a bid to demonstrate BGF’s commitment to tackling call centre scamming gangs, which have become a growing international security concern.

BGF’s move came after Thailand cut electricity, internet and fuel supplies to five border areas in Myanmar to combat call centre fraud last Wednesday. Areas affected by the shut-off include Tachileik, Myawaddy and Phaya Thonsu townships.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/asean/40046229

[khaolakguy]

2 hours ago, reader said:

Phumtham said the government has contacted embassies of countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, including Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia regarding the repatriation of their citizens held in Myanmar.

Wow, that's a lot of countries and a big organisation behind the scams....

[macaroni21]

 

[10tazione]

How do you lock up 10.000 people in a city? I mean, everyone in that city must know whats going on and where exactly no? Including the Myanmar border guard force ... Cant be the Chinese Mafia alone without "strong official support" or am I missing something?

[macaroni21]

First of all, let's not imagine that Myanmar has anything even resembling a functioning government whose remit runs to all corners of the county (as coloured on a map). Some reports suggest that the Naypyidaw government controls little more than 60% of the map-coloured area. Big patches of the territory, particularly the border areas whether minrotiy ethnic groups live are controlled by rebel militia.

These militia are always desperate for money to buy arms. So if a Chinese scam entrepreneur offers to set up a business in their territory, and offers a cut of the takings to the militia, he will likely be welcomed with open arms. One can imagine the militia reploying ts forces to help the scam centre maintain "security".

The recent threat of the Thai government to cut off power and internet access seems to be working. One might say it should have been done a long time ago, but I can understand that the Thai government did not want to trigger more waves of refugees of the civilian population fleeing into Thailand due to power cut-off. The difference this time is that bad rep was hurting Thailand's tourism ambitions, and so Thailand had to act at last.

There are different rebel militia groups along different parts of the border. The above video is only about one part. I don't know if there are similar agreements reached with other rebel groups in other stretches of the border to shut down their scam centres.

Even now, I wonder how long this positive "solution" will last. Maybe as soon as things quieten down, the scam centres will be up and running again? After all, the militia groups' need for cash remains unchanged.

 

[reader]

52 minutes ago, 10tazione said:

How do you lock up 10.000 people in a city? I mean, everyone in that city must know whats going on and where exactly no? Including the Myanmar border guard force ... Cant be the Chinese Mafia alone without "strong official support" or am I missing something?

You’re right and the more I read about it the more of a conundrum it becomes. 

From The Star

Thailand to seek arrest warrants for Myanmar Border Guard Forces leaders

BANGKOK: Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will seek arrest warrants for three leaders of Myanmar’s Border Guard Forces (BGF) on charges of human trafficking, Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong (pic) announced on Tuesday (Feb 11).

Tawee stated that the case against Colonel Saw Chit Thu, Lieutenant Colonel Mote Thone, and Major Tin Win dates back several years when Thai nationals were detained in Myanmar.

He clarified that this case is unrelated to recent crackdowns on call-centre gangs operating in Myanmar’s border towns.

However, the DSI has now gathered sufficient evidence to request the Criminal Court to issue their arrest warrants.

In addition to the three BGF leaders, several foreign nationals are suspected of involvement in the human trafficking operation, Tawee revealed, though he did not provide further details.

The BGF are military units operating under Myanmar’s Regional Military Commands, comprising former insurgent groups.

Tawee stressed that the arrest warrants are not linked to information provided by Liu Zhongyi, China’s Assistant Minister of Public Security, who recently visited Thailand.

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2025/02/11/thailand-to-seek-arrest-warrants-for-myanmar-border-guard-forces-leaders

========

From The New Humanitarian

Myanmar migrants forced to join junta forces after deportation from Thailand

RANONG, Thailand

After being detained in southern Thailand, Aung Myo Kyaw, a migrant worker from Myanmar, was looking forward to regaining his freedom. It was the end of July 2024, and the 30-year-old construction worker had spent more than 20 days in the immigration detention centre in Ranong.

Aung Myo Kyaw knew he would be deported to Kawthaung, a bustling trading port at the southern tip of Myanmar, but he assumed he would be released shortly afterwards.

That was also what he and the roughly 120 other migrants from Myanmar – arrested for overstaying their visas – were told when they disembarked at Kawthaung after a 45-minute boat journey across the Pak Chan River.

“[The Myanmar authorities] first kept us at an indoor stadium. They told us… we’d be sent home after signing some documents,” he told The New Humanitarian and Dawei Watch, a Myanmar news outlet, after he managed to escape the military in January 2025.

“Instead, they took us to Battalion No. 262 (an infantry regiment) and kept us in the barracks. That’s when we found out we were going to be sent to the military.”

The deportees weren’t given a choice. Nobody inquired about their wishes, and there was no chance of an escape. They were also told they would be killed and their families would suffer if they tried to join the opposing side.

The young men simply became fodder for the Myanmar military, which is desperate for new recruits as it continues to suffer heavy losses against a loose coalition of forces composed of longstanding ethnic armed organisations and more recently formed opposition groups. Several armed groups fighting the junta have also been accused of forced conscription.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing, the military leader of Myanmar, accusing him of crimes against the nation’s long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

Thailand has come under criticism for seemingly aiding the junta, which has long been accused by the UN, research organisations, and civil society groups of committing widespread human rights abuses against unarmed civilians, including indiscriminate airstrikes and mass killings.

Continues at

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2025/02/13/myanmar-migrants-forced-join-junta-forces-after-deportation-thailand

 

[bkkmfj2648]

4 hours ago, reader said:

The young men simply became fodder for the Myanmar military, which is desperate for new recruits as it continues to suffer heavy losses against a loose coalition of forces composed of longstanding ethnic armed organisations and more recently formed opposition groups. Several armed groups fighting the junta have also been accused of forced conscription.

Thank you for sharing this with us @reader.

This is why I abbhor when the local Thai immigration officials enter into the local gay areas here in Pattaya and Jomtien to look for "illegals".

From a human rights point of view the Thai authorities must STOP deporting Myanmar nationals back to Myanmar as the military junta will force conscript them to fight for them and use them as human fodder.

I know of a few dear Myanmar friend who work in Supertown who have to run for their lives everytime the Thai immigration officials decide its time to "play cat and mouse".

They fear for their lives.

Where is the compassion of the Thai authorities? 🤔🤔

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Thank you for sharing this with us @reader.

This is why I abbhor when the local Thai immigration officials enter into the local gay areas here in Pattaya and Jomtien to look for "illegals".

From a human rights point of view the Thai authorities must STOP deporting Myanmar nationals back to Myanmar as the military junta will force conscript them to fight for them and use them as human fodder.

I know of a few dear Myanmar friend who work in Supertown who have to run for their lives everytime the Thai immigration officials decide its time to "play cat and mouse".

They fear for their lives.

Where is the compassion of the Thai authorities? 🤔🤔

What compassion?

[Raposa]

The scam centres operate in many parts of the golden triangle including Laos and Cambodia. The pig butchering scam centre model originated in Cambodia. This type of scam centre thrived in the zones off lawlessness that the military coup of 2021 opened up. They are being controlled by Chinese criminal groups who find their home not only on the mainland but also Singapore, Malaysia and Macau. 

They were driven away by rebel groups in the North of Myanmar but did set themselves up again in the border regions with Thailand. 

It will be difficult to eliminate these centres completely as they are also a source of financing for not only the rebel groups but also the junta itself. It is also a highly lucrative business.

Some of the people who work in the centres now what they are doing and do so willingly, others have been trafficked into this.

[reader]

From the Nation

Karen state’s Border Guard Force (BGF) has asked Thai authorities for help in repatriating human trafficking victims in Myanmar.

The BGF launched a “crackdown” on human trafficking after Thailand cut electricity and internet supplies to the cyber scam hubs under its jurisdiction in Myawaddy Township.   

BGF chief Maj General Saw Chit Thu on Thursday sent two identical request letters – one addressed to Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and the other to Col Natthakorn Ruentip, chief of the Ratchamanu Taskforce, responsible for guarding the border in Tak province.

The letters claimed the BGF has identified, arrested and suppressed human traffickers and fraudsters who are illegally operating within “investment projects” in its region.

Saw Chit Thu is a co-investor in Myawaddy’s Shwe Kokko new city, a US$15-billion project that has become a notorious hub of illegal gambling, human trafficking, extortion and cyber scam operations.

The BGF leader said that from Saturday (February 15), a large number of people would be transported via the Second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge from Myawaddy to the adjacent Thai town of Mae Sot. He added that the BGF would accelerate cooperation with the Myanmar and Thai governments and requested assistance from Thai authorities. 

The BGF is believed to be under pressure from its Myanmar junta allies and China after high-profile reports of Chinese celebrities being trafficked to Myawaddy scam centres earlier this year.  

A source revealed that the BGF has detained some 500 foreign nationals rounded up during its crackdown on call centre gangs in border areas.

The BGF’s move came after Thailand cut electricity, internet and fuel supplies to five border areas in Myanmar on February 5 to combat call centre fraud. Areas affected by the shut-off include Myawaddy, Tachileik, and Phaya Thonsu townships.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/asean/40046279

[vinapu]

On 2/14/2025 at 4:10 AM, Keithambrose said:

What compassion?

exactly , they showed their compassionate side in 80ties when they were supporting Pol Pot  dwindling forces close to their order

[reader]

From The Nation

Over 1,000 arrested in Border Guard Force crackdown

More than 1,000 individuals suspected of human trafficking and online scamming were arrested on Tuesday during a crackdown by Karen state’s Border Guard Force (BGF) in Shwe Kokko city on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

The city in Myawaddy township has become a notorious hub of illegal gambling, human trafficking, extortion and cyber scam operations.

Under the direct order of BGF secretary-general Maj General Saw Chit Thu, BGF soldiers raided several high-rise buildings in Shwe Kokko, seizing computers and equipment allegedly used for illegal businesses, and arresting over 1,000 suspects.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/asean/40046458

[PeterRS]

On 2/13/2025 at 12:46 PM, khaolakguy said:

Wow, that's a lot of countries and a big organisation behind the scams....

Let's be clear about one thing. The scam centres are huge. It is estimated that at least 250,000 innocent people, mostly but not exclusively from Asia, have been trafficked into Myanmar and now man these burgeoning scam centres. The United States Institute for Peace estimates people from 60 different countries are involved. Further, that same organisation estimates that by the end of 2023 the centres had made profits of US$64 billion! Covid19 and the loss of so many jobs and household incomes were a huge boon to the traffickers who suddenly had a huge supply of willing targets hoping to make decent money by coming to jobs in Thailand. For it is Bangkok which is the first stop for those being trafficked. Freeing 1,000 or more is not even a drop in the bucket, for we can be sure that in the days since the report a week ago, they have already  been replaced. 

We must also realise that it is not just the Chinese at the centre of this racket. Many certainly are, but ironically they are protected by certain Karen rebel groups - those same militias who are supposed to be fighting against the forces of the military junta. It is one of the horrible ironies of the eight decades old civil war in Myanmar that while many rebel militias are fighting and dying for freedom and independence, others are also fighting their fellow citizens. There is no rule of law around the huge city of Shwe Kokko which was just fields until 2017. Allegedly just another regular city, the locals all know precisely what is going on and that it is the scam centres which rent the high rise buildings. Even more ironically it was only in 2019 when Cambodia banned on-line casino gambling that the Chinese crime syndicates moved most of their operations into Myanmar big time.

Shwe Kokko under construction: photo Observervoice