39 foreigners escape Myanmar online scam centre, cross into Thailand amid trafficking concerns

Thirty-nine foreigners have fled an online scam centre in Myanmar across the border to Thailand, where officials are working to identify potential trafficking victims, police said on Monday.

Scam compounds have mushroomed in Myanmar’s borderlands and are staffed by foreigners who are often trafficked and forced to work, swindling their compatriots in an industry analysts say is worth billions.

The group from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia and Russia crossed into Thailand’s Tak province, according to the police chief in the city of Mae Sot.

They had fled from Myawaddy just across the border, Colonel Pittayakorn Petcharat said.

Myawaddy is controlled by a military-aligned 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 it was informed that 32 of its citizens were trapped in Myanmar, said Petcharat.