By UCA News, reporter
CAMBODIA – A joint raid by Thai and Cambodian authorities has rescued 215 people believed trafficked into a scam compound in the border town of Poipet amid a sweeping crackdown on cross border criminal syndicates initiated by Bangkok earlier this month.
Poipet; a major trading post on the Cambodian side of the border; was targeted after Thai authorities identified a three story building in a plaza as a scam site with police rescuing 109 Thais, 50 Pakistanis, 48 Indians, five Taiwanese and three Indonesians on morning of Feb 22.
Fifty-four of them were women.
“This is the largest number of Thais freed from a building suspected of cyber fraud for the two countries,” said Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub.
He said the operation followed a plea for help from a victim who emailed Thai police. Thailand’s Police Commissioner-General Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet then sought assistance from his counterparts in Cambodia.
Those rescued were questioned in Cambodia before being transferred to Thailand with authorities attempting to distinguish between those who were tricked and trafficked and those who willingly worked for the organized crime rings.
They were expected to meet with diplomats from their respective embassies and then flown home with more expected to follow.
About 7,000 people were released from compounds in Myanmar over the past two weeks. To date, China has repatriated 621 of its rescued nationals.
Thailand initiated the crackdown on Feb 5, after the rescue of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was abducted and trafficked into a scam center in Myanmar creating a furious uproar at home, resulting in the mass cancellations of Chinese tourists who had booked holidays in Thailand.
Officials then cut cross border electricity connections, oil supplies and the internet into Myanmar; particularly along the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border towns, before extending its reach into Cambodia and Laos.
All three countries have been identified by the United Nations and the United States Institute for Peace as major hubs for scam centers where victims risk torture and death if they fail to meet their monthly quotas through online fraud known as “pig butchering.”
The UN has said more than 120,000 people have been trafficked into Myanmar, where at least 10 scam cities have been built north and south of Myawaddy, and a further 100,000 into Cambodia.
However, sources along the border inside Myanmar say the crackdown has had only a limited impact with the syndicates buying up generators and fuel to maintain their operations which has resulted in the price of diesel almost doubling in recent weeks.
“That’s hurting locals who have to deal with civil war and intense poverty,” one Mae Sot-based military analyst said. “Organized criminals are very good at evading authorities and they’ve been doing this for several years.
“The syndicates are also recruiting local Chinese speakers who are taking up jobs willingly and replacing the Chinese who were duped into accepting false job offers. And operations are moving deeper inside Myanmar and re-basing back into Cambodia,” he said. – UCA News
