Thailand Works to Repatriate Citizens from Scam Centers

BANGKOK, Thailand — Authorities are collaborating with embassies and governments to expedite the repatriation of thousands of individuals stranded along the Thai-Myanmar border after their rescue from scam compounds, a government official stated on Thursday.

Approximately 7,000 people have been housed in camps operated by armed groups after being pulled from illegal scam centers in Myanmar’s Myawaddy region. These centers are part of a broader trafficking network that has exploited hundreds of thousands of individuals to generate illicit revenues estimated in the billions of dollars annually, according to the United Nations.

Individuals trapped in these centers, many of whom claim they were coerced into participation, are forced to engage in online scams targeting victims around the globe.

Countries including China and Indonesia have successfully repatriated some of their citizens from Myawaddy with the help of Thai authorities. However, many others, particularly from African nations without embassies in Thailand, remain in limbo.

On Thursday, the first of 19 repatriation flights planned this week took off from Mae Sot, a Thai border town, carrying nearly 1,500 Chinese nationals rescued from the scam centers.

Nikorndej Balankura, a spokesman for Thailand’s foreign ministry, explained, “It is up to the receiving government whether they will send officials from their embassies to fly into Thailand or send people from their respective capitals.” The foreign ministry has initiated contact with accredited embassies for countries lacking local missions.

Thailand mandates that any country repatriating its citizens must send officials to the Thai-Myanmar border to facilitate the necessary processes. These procedures include disease screening and immigration checks.

The living conditions for the foreign nationals rescued from the scam compounds have been troubling, with reports of inadequate food, minimal healthcare, and unsanitary toilet facilities in the camps. Some detainees from African nations indicated to Reuters last week that they lack the resources to purchase tickets for their return home.

Reporting by Thomas Suen and Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok, and Artorn Pookasook in Mae Sot, Thailand; writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; editing by Alex Richardson.