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
Paul Greening works as a political analyst and a specialist consultant covering the conflict in Myanmar from his base in Mae Sot on the Thai border and is a regular guest with Beyond the Mekong, sharing his insights into the troubled country. He spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt aboutContinue 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
During Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, one of the main topics of discussion was the proliferation of scam centers close to Thailand’s borders in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Recently, under Chinese pressure, Thailand has initiated a number of measures to combatContinue 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
Thailand’s resolve to crack down on human traffickers and scam compounds operating along its borders in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos is meeting stiff resistance from criminal syndicates who have dug in and are harder to catch than well-bred sewer rats. The focus remains firmly on Myanmar, where Thailand has cutContinue Reading
Yesterday, the Thai army announced that it was coordinating an effort to repatriate around 260 people believed to have been victims of human trafficking, after their rescue from scam centers in Myanmar. A report by the Associated Press quoted army sources as saying that those rescued were sent across theContinue Reading
Thailand’s government says that it plans to intensify its war on online scam operations across the border in Myanmar, requesting arrest warrants for figures known to be involved with criminal syndicates and planning further restrictions on exports to areas where these syndicates are known to operate. According to a reportContinue Reading
