Eighty-four Indonesians freed from scam centers in Myanmar arrived at the Thai border city of Mae Sot earlier on Thursday in an ongoing repatriation effort that follows a crackdown by Thailand, Myanmar and China.
The crackdown and repatriation effort came shortly after Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra paid a visit to Beijing earlier this month, where she told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that Thailand would crack down on the scam networks.
As part of Thailand’s crackdown, it also has cut off electricity, internet and gas supplies to several areas in Myanmar hosting scam centers along the border, citing national security.
Hundreds of thousands of people were believed to had been lured to work in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos to commit scams against people across the world through false romances, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.
Nugraha has said that approximately 6,800 Indonesians have fallen victim to illegal job scams, ending up in online gambling operations or bogus investment schemes in Myanmar and several other countries over the past few years.
