New Delhi: Nearly 500 Indian nationals who escaped from scam centres in Myanmar have crossed into Thailand and are awaiting repatriation, according to officials familiar with the matter. India is coordinating with Thai authorities to bring them home once legal procedures are completed.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the Indians are currently in Mae Sot, a town near the Thai-Myanmar border. “The Indian government will send a plane to take them back directly,” he told reporters.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that the Indian Embassy in Bangkok is working with local authorities to verify the identities of those detained and facilitate their return. “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.” Officials said India is considering sending an aircraft to Thailand for the repatriation effort. Most of the Indians had been trapped in the KK Park complex in Myanmar’s Myawaddy region, known as a hub for transnational cyber scams.
According to reports, the Indians are among over 1,500 people from 28 countries who have fled Myanmar in recent days as authorities cracked down on the scam networks. A United Nations report released in May described how hundreds of trafficked individuals from various countries were forced to conduct online fraud operations in facilities across Southeast Asia.
Similar scam centres have been found in Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia, often run by criminal syndicates that recruit victims from multiple countries.
In March, India had repatriated 549 citizens who were rescued from similar cyber scam centres operating along the Myanmar-Thailand border. Officials said the latest group includes both victims and individuals associated with the scam operations.