Pakistanis among 700 people flee to Thailand after Myanmar scam centre raid

BANGKOK: Nearly 700 foreigners, including Pakistanis, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Thailand, the Thai army said on Thursday, following a military operation against the Chinese-backed KK Park, a notorious cybercrime compound.
Thailand has detained 677 people, including 618 men and 59 women, after they crossed the border into Tak province, it said in a statement.
Myanmar’s military has taken control of KK Park and is inspecting the area, driving a large number of people into Thailand, the statement said.
The people are now undergoing legal procedures and screening, and Thai authorities have also made additional detention facilities available in case existing spaces become insufficient, the army said.
“All actions are in line with legal and humanitarian principles,” it said, adding that it was working closely with local security agencies to maintain order along the Thai-Myanmar border.
The group consists primarily of individuals from India and China, with smaller numbers from Vietnam, Pakistan, Indonesia and several other countries, the army said.
Myanmar’s KK Park is a notorious enclave known to international law enforcement and diplomats for its involvement in cyberscams.
KK Park’s sprawling compound and others nearby are run primarily by Chinese criminal gangs and guarded by local militia groups aligned to Myanmar’s military.
Border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have become hubs for online fraud since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the United Nations says billions of dollars have been earned from the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of people forced to work in scam compounds.
The sprawling compounds, where internet fraudsters target people with romance and business cons, have thrived along Myanmar’s loosely governed border during its civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup.
A highly publicised crackdown starting in February saw around 7,000 workers repatriated and Thailand enact a cross-border internet blockade.
Sawanit Suriyakul Na Ayutthaya, deputy governor of Tak province on the Myanmar border, said that “677 people fled from the scam centre“ across the Moei river into Thailand as of Thursday morning.
Another crowd of more than 100 people gathered on the Myanmar side of the main local border crossing to Thailand early Thursday, an AFP journalist saw, many carrying large suitcases and backpacks.
A driver in the area, speaking anonymously for security reasons, estimated 700 people had made illegal overnight crossings. Monitoring Desk