Thai Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai on February 13 raised the idea of building a wall along parts of its border with Cambodia as part of an effort to stop human trafficking. On March 3, the Thai Cabinet apparently discussed the subject, with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra requesting a feasibility study.Continue Reading
In a cramped Jakarta boarding house, Yanti rereads her brother Wahyu’s last message: “Don’t tell Mama. I’m afraid she’ll get sick from stress. Just pray for me to stay strong.” Wahyu had left Indonesia for what he thought was a stable job at a Korean company. Instead, traffickers lured WahyuContinue Reading
Thai authorities have arrested and charged 100 Thai nationals for their involvement in transnational call center scams operating from Cambodia, police announced yesterday. Pol. Gen. Thatchai Pitanilabut, Director of the Police Cyber Taskforce and the Anti-Human Trafficking Center, told the press yesterday that the Criminal Court issued arrest warrants onContinue Reading
Thailand is looking into the idea of building a wall on part of its border with Cambodia to prevent illegal crossings as part of its ongoing offensive against illegal online scam operations along its borders. Speaking to the press yesterday, government spokesperson Jirayu Huangsab said that Prime Minister Paetongtarn ShinawatraContinue Reading
The major breaking news out of the Mekong subregion in recent weeks is the supposed release and pending repatriation of nearly 10,000 foreign nationals from scam compounds around Myawaddy, a town in southeastern Myanmar that sits on the border with Thailand. In the first batch of 260 repatriations, a stunningContinue Reading
Thai and Cambodian police have rescued 215 people from a suspected online scamming operation along the countries’ shared border, marking a possible expansion of the Thai-led crackdown on scam syndicates operating in the Mekong region. According to a Reuters report, Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub told the media yesterday thatContinue Reading
More than a decade since the announcement of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the ambitious project faces mounting scrutiny, despite its outward appearance of driving rapid development growth. The so-called BRI 2.0 vision, which promises to be “smaller, greener, and smarter,” is Beijing’s response to widespread criticism of theContinue Reading
Chinese police have detained a key suspect in a number of recent human trafficking cases linked to cyberscam networks along the Myanmar-Thailand border, including the kidnapping of a well-known Chinese actor earlier this month. In a statement on Sunday, China’s Ministry of Public Security said that a “major criminal suspect”Continue Reading
The six Mekong River countries plan to bolster their efforts to combat online scamming and arms dealing in mainland Southeast Asia, amid a quickening flow of reports about human trafficking and criminal activity in the region. The meeting, which took place in Kunming on Tuesday, brought together law enforcement officialsContinue Reading
