39 foreigners escape Myanmar’s online scam center and cross into Thailand over human trafficking concerns

Thirty-nine foreigners have fled an online scam center in Myanmar across the border into Thailand, where officials are working to identify potential trafficking victims, police said Monday.

Fraudsters have mushroomed in Myanmar’s border areas and are staffed by foreigners who are often trafficked and forced to work, defrauding their fellow countrymen in a sector that analysts say is worth billions.

The group from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia and Russia entered Thailand’s Tak province, the city’s police chief Mae Sot said.

They had just fled across the border from Myawaddy, Colonel Pittayakorn Petcharat said.

Myawaddy is controlled by a military militia and is a hotbed of drug production and online scam outfits, according to observers.

Sri Lanka’s embassy in Bangkok had asked Thai authorities for help after learning that 32 of its citizens were stuck in Myanmar, Petcharat said.