India plans to send an airplane to repatriate some 500 of its nationals who fled over the border into Thailand following a military raid on a notorious scam centre in Myanmar, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday.
Starting last week, the Myanmar military has conducted a series of military operations against the Chinese-backed KK Park cyber scam compound, driving a large number of people – mostly foreign nationals who worked there – into the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
More than 1,500 people from 28 countries have fled and are now being looked after in Thailand, according to a statement by local authorities.
Prime Minister Anutin said the Indian ambassador will meet with the head of immigration to discuss speeding up the legal verification process for the 500 Indian nationals ahead of their flight back to India.
“India has asked for cooperation from Thailand, they don’t want this to burden us,” Anutin said. “They will sent a plane to pick these victims up… the plane will land directly in Mae Sot,” he added.
India earlier this year sent a plane to repatriate its nationals after thousands were freed from cyberscam centres along the Thai-Myanmar border following a regional crackdown.
KK Park is a notorious enclave located in Karen State. It is known to international law enforcement and diplomats for its involvement in transnational cyber scams.
The sprawling KK Park compound and others nearby are run primarily by Chinese criminal gangs and guarded by local militia groups aligned to Myanmar’s military.
The border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have become hubs for online fraud since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.N. says billions of dollars have been earned from the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of people forced to work in the compounds.
REUTERS
