India is working with Thai authorities to bring the Indian nationals back home who crossed into Thailand following a crackdown on some notorious scam centres
in Myanmar. India is considering sending an aircraft to Thailand to repatriate the Indians. Nearly 500 Indian nationals crossed into Thailand following a crackdown on some notorious scam centres in Myanmar. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said nearly 500 Indians are at Mae Sot in western Thailand. "The Indian government will send a plane to take them back directly," he said. According to news agency PTI, India is considering sending an aircraft to Thailand to repatriate the Indians, most of whom were victims of the scam centres in Myanmar's KK Park complex. The Indian nationals are among over 1,500 people from 28 countries who have fled Myanmar following the crackdown on the scam centres, according to reports. It is learnt that the Indians who fled from Myanmar to Thailand include some of the victims of the scam centres as well as those who were involved in their operation. The Myanmar Military had conducted a series of operations against the KK Park cybercrime compound since last week. The KK Park is notorious for its involvement in transnational cyberscams, according to Reuters. The sprawling compound and others nearby are run primarily by Chinese criminal gangs and guarded by local militia groups aligned to Myanmar's military, the report added.
India's MEA on Indians Stranded in Thailand
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Indian embassy in Bangkok is working closely with the Thai authorities on the issue. "We are aware of Indian nationals who have been detained by Thai authorities," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"They had crossed into Thailand from Myanmar over the past few days. Our Mission in Thailand is working closely with Thai authorities to verify their nationality and to repatriate them, after necessary legal formalities are completed in Thailand," he said.
Earlier in March, India had repatriated 549 nationals rescued from such facilities near the Myanmar–Thailand border.
Myanmar Emerges as Hub of Transnational Scam Centres
The scam centres in Myanmar are involved in transnational cyber scams, according to a PTI report.
According to a UN report, hundreds of trafficked individuals of various nationalities were forced to carry out fraud in the centres. Similar centres are reportedly located in Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia as well.
The underground operations are often linked to criminal networks that recruit victims globally, putting them to work in facilities principally in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia, the UN report said in May.
(With inputs from PTI, Reuters)
