Chinese police investigating 5 missing teens issue further warnings about telecoms crime
scam centres , including some who have lost contact with their families after travelling to
Myanmar
Police in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province in central China, issued a notice on Wednesday, confirming the disappearance of an 18-year-old high school student who had travelled to a city in Yunnan province, in southwestern China, at the border with Myanmar.
According to his parents, the student surnamed Hu left school to look for a job in Hefei in April. But in late June his mother could not find him at his workplace.
03:32
'We're not scammers': China, Thailand join forces to free thousands from Myanmar scam hubs
'We're not scammers': China, Thailand join forces to free thousands from Myanmar scam hubs
He was reported last seen near a restaurant in Jinghong, Yunnan, after coming out of Xishuangbanna airport on June 5, having flown from Nanjing. Jinghong police said they had no further information about him.
Hu's disappearance is not an isolated case. In the past month, many teenagers aged 18 or 19 who set out to travel or work during the summer holiday reportedly travelled to Yunnan without their families' knowledge, and then lost contact in the border area.
According to Elephant News, an official news outlet in Henan province, a mother in Hubei urgently sought help on Tuesday, saying that her high school student son and two of his classmates had lost contact after going to Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture on June 24, and that they were suspected to be in Myanmar, where telecoms-related crime is rampant.
Hubei police confirmed the case, saying that the three students had arrived in Xishuangbanna prefecture on June 25 and lost contact with their families and friends two days after their arrival. Their last message was sent from abroad, police said.
The mother in Hubei said her son had previously met a 'buddy' on the internet who had invited the three to go to Yunnan with him, saying he was 'delivering rhino horns'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China ramps up crackdown on strategic mineral smugglers, vows stronger export controls
A number of suspects involved in strategic mineral smuggling had been arrested, Chinese authorities said on Saturday, while pledging stronger enforcement of export controls to prevent illegal shipments and technology transfers for military use. The Ministry of Commerce statement came during a high-level export-control meeting in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region – an area of southern China rich in strategic mineral reserves . Multiple ministries attended the meeting, which was organised by the national coordination office for export control. Officials at the meeting said the situation in combating the smuggling of strategic minerals 'remained severe'. They said plans were under way to set up a joint enforcement and coordination centre for export controls on dual-use items for both civilian and military use, as a special operation to crack down on smuggling continued. The special operation launched in May has resulted in multiple arrests, according to the ministry statement. However, Saturday's progress update meeting did not reveal the exact number of arrests made so far. 'Relevant departments must take full responsibility for their duties, maintain a high-pressure approach of strict investigation and enforcement, and firmly prevent the illegal outflow of strategic minerals and related technologies,' the statement said. Authorities said that some offenders continued to collude with foreign parties to carry out illegal exports driven by personal gain. Tactics to evade detection – such as false declarations and transshipment through third countries – had become 'increasingly covert', they warned.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong customs ‘powerless to stop fake Labubu, Chiikawa toys without records'
Hong Kong customs has approached the trademark owners of popular brands Labubu and Chiikawa to establish records that will help combat counterfeits, with the Post learning the city currently has no way of cracking down on fakes featuring the characters. Advertisement The distributor of hugely popular doll Labubu, Pop Mart, and Nagano Co, the firm that registered the trademark for Japanese manga character Chiikawa, have not completed recordation procedures needed by the Customs and Excise Department to root out fakes, according to a source. A customs spokesman said the department had contacted the trademark owners. 'The department is greatly concerned about the matter and has proactively reached out to the relevant trademark owners for liaison and follow-up [action],' he said. The source said that trademark holders had a procedure to conduct with customs' Recordation Office so the department could investigate suspected piracy or counterfeiting activities and seize goods. Advertisement 'Customs cannot act upon any suspected fake dolls if there is no recordation with the department,' the source said.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China cracks down on rare earth smugglers, vowing stronger export controls
Chinese authorities said a number of suspects involved in strategic mineral smuggling had been arrested and vowed to strengthen enforcement of export controls to prevent the illegal use of goods and technologies for military purposes. The statement from the Ministry of Commerce came during a high-level meeting on Saturday in Nanning city in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region – an area of southern China rich in strategic mineral reserves . The meeting was organised by the Office of the National Export Control Coordination Mechanism and attended by multiple ministries. Officials at the meeting said the situation in combating the smuggling of strategic minerals 'remained severe'. They said they planned to set up a joint enforcement and coordination centre for export controls on dual-use items for both civilian and military use as they carried out a special operation to crack down on smuggling. 'Relevant departments must take full responsibility for their duties, maintain a high-pressure approach of strict investigation and enforcement, and firmly prevent the illegal outflow of strategic minerals and related technologies,' the statement said. The authorities launched the special operation to combat strategic mineral smuggling in May, which resulted in the arrests. In the progress update meeting on Saturday, authorities did not specify the exact number of arrests they had made so far. They said that some offenders continued to collude with foreign parties to carry out illegal exports driven by personal gain. They warned that tactics to evade – such as false declarations and transshipment through third countries – had become 'increasingly covert'.
