Bangkok:
Police in Thailand and Cambodian have attacked buildings in border towns and released 215 foreigners, a senior Thai official said on Sunday in expanding regional crackdowns on cyber fraud centres.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centres and illegal online businesses in Southeast Asia, according to the United Nations.
The 2023 UN report estimates that the fast-growing business will generate billions of dollars a year. Sunday’s attack targeted a three-storey building in Poipett, the Cambodian border town of Bantay Jushey province.
The foreigners rescued included 109 Tais, 50 Pakistanis, 48 Indians, five Taiwanese and three Indonesians, said Thai government spokesman Jirayu -Hounsub said on Sunday. “This is the largest number of Thailand released from buildings suspected of cyber fraud in both countries,” Jirayu said.
The attack, he said, was the result of a joint effort by Thailand and Cambodia to tackle the fraud centre. The fraud center has been running for years.
But they are now facing new scrutiny after the rescue of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was seduced by Thailand with a promise of duties and taken to Myanmar’s fraud center. . Southeast Asian countries have stepped up efforts to tackle fraud centres with recent actions along the borders of Taimyanmar.
Earlier this month, Thailand cut its power, fuel and internet supply to areas associated with fraud centres. China has also repatriated 621 citizens rescued from fraud centres in these regions over the past few days, Thai troops said on Saturday.