Hundreds of foreign workers rescued from scam centers in Myanmar

More than 250 foreign workers, held in telecom fraud centers in Myanmar’s Karen State, have been released by an ethnic armed group and transported to Thailand. The individuals, representing 20 nationalities, were received by the Thai military, where authorities are now assessing whether they were victims of human trafficking.

The release follows a high-level commitment by Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week. During the meeting, Shinawatra pledged to dismantle scam operations that have proliferated along the Thai-Myanmar border. In response, her government has taken swift action, including cutting access to power and fuel on the Thai side of the border and implementing stricter banking and visa regulations to curb the movement of workers and illicit funds.

Thailand’s opposition MPs have been advocating for stronger measures against these fraud operations for the past two years. The scam centers, often run by criminal syndicates, lure foreign workers with false promises of high salaries or mislead them into believing they will be employed in Thailand rather than Myanmar.

The targeted workforce typically includes individuals proficient in languages such as English and Chinese, which are commonly used in online fraud schemes. Once inside the compounds, many are coerced into participating in various cybercrimes, including love scams often referred to as “pig butchering” as well as cryptocurrency fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling. While some workers comply voluntarily, others are held against their will, with their release contingent on ransom payments from their families. Survivors have reported experiencing severe abuse and torture while in captivity.

The foreign workers were handed over by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), one of several armed factions controlling parts of Karen State. These groups have been accused of sheltering scam operations and permitting the abuse of trafficking victims within their territories.

The Myanmar government, which has struggled to assert control over Karen State since the country’s independence in 1948, has been largely unable to intervene. However, mounting international pressure has forced local armed factions to take action.

On Tuesday, Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI), an agency comparable to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), sought arrest warrants for three senior commanders of the Karen National Army, another armed group implicated in scam operations. Among those named was warlord Saw Chit Thu, who in 2017 brokered a deal with a Chinese company to establish Shwe Kokko a city widely suspected of being a hub for fraudulent activities.

Both the DKBA and Saw Chit Thu, who split from the main Karen insurgent group in 1994 and allied with Myanmar’s military, have now vowed to expel scam operations from their territories. Under mounting diplomatic and security pressure from Thailand and China, these groups appear to be distancing themselves from cyber-fraud activities.

The DKBA commander facilitated the release of the 260 workers on Tuesday, reaching out to a Thai parliament member to coordinate the handover. The freed individuals include 221 men and 39 women from a diverse range of countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Nepal, Uganda, Laos, Burundi, Brazil, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, India, Ghana, and Cambodia.

As investigations continue, authorities will determine whether the individuals were trafficked or knowingly participated in scam operations.