39 foreigners flee Myanmar scam center: Thai police

BANGKOK: 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 told AFP on Monday (Nov 25).

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 told AFP.

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.

The group that escaped and arrived in Thailand also included five Nepalis, a Malaysian and a Russian.

AFP has contacted the embassies of the four countries for comment.