logo
A top Chinese official tours Thai-Myanmar border to highlight crackdown on scam centers

A top Chinese official tours Thai-Myanmar border to highlight crackdown on scam centers

BANGKOK (AP) — Efforts to shut down online scam centers in Myanmar appeared to gain momentum on Monday as a top Chinese security official visited both sides of the Thai-Myanmar border ahead of expected large-scale repatriations of workers in the illicit industry.
The visit by Liu Zhongyi, China's vice minister of public security and commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, was part of a stepped-up effort by the three countries to address the online scam problem, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters.
Areas of Myanmar bordering Thailand have been serving as havens for criminal syndicates employing an estimated hundreds of thousands of people from Southeast Asia and elsewhere who help carry out online scams including false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.
Such scams have cost victims around the world tens of billions of dollars, while the people recruited to carry them out have often been tricked into taking the jobs under false pretenses and find themselves trapped in virtual slavery.
Last week, some 260 people from 20 nations, including many from Africa, crossed from Myanmar into Thailand after they were reportedly rescued from scam centers.
Thailand and China coordinate crackdown on scam centers
On a visit to China in early February, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra vowed along with China's leader Xi Jinping to crack down on the scam networks. Just ahead of her visit, Thailand cut off electricity, internet and gas supplies to several areas in Myanmar along the border, citing national security and severe damage that Thailand has suffered from scam operations.
The repatriations of foreign workers from Myanmar have been organized by the Border Guard Force in Myawaddy, a militia of the Karen ethnic minority that exercises control over the area. However, critics have accused it of being involved in the criminal activities, at least to the extent of providing protection to the scam centers.
The group's leader, Saw Chit Thu, denied in a news conference on Monday that his group was involved in scam activities, but acknowledged business links to some properties hosting the centers, which he said initially operated simply as resorts.
Thai media reported last week that Thailand's Department of Special Investigation was considering seeking arrest warrants for Chit Thu and others for alleged human trafficking.
Thousands of workers employed by scam networks
Thai officials have said as many as 7,000-10,000 more people may be repatriated, but Phumtham cautioned that Thailand would only receive those that are ready to be taken back right away by their home countries.
The Bangkok Post newspaper reported that an initial batch of about 600 Chinese nationals from scam centers are expected to be flown back to China on chartered flights when Liu concludes his visit.
Liu visited the border areas in Thailand's Tak province on Monday and appeared in Myawaddy in Myanmar, apparently at a location where hundreds of people believed to have been rounded up from several scam centers are being held awaiting repatriation.
Video of Liu's visit showed hundreds of people there sitting on the ground with their belongings in a large open-walled hall.
' China is actively conducting bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Thailand, Myanmar, and other countries, taking comprehensive measures to address both the symptoms and root causes, and working together to block criminals from committing crimes in relevant countries,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in Beijing.
'This is part of our joint efforts to eradicate the scourge of online gambling and telecom fraud, and to maintain the safety of people's lives and property and the order of exchanges and cooperation among regional countries.'
Stories of Chinese trapped in Myanmar hurt Thailand's reputation
Dramatic stories of Chinese people being lured to work in Thailand only to be trafficked into a scam compound in Myanmar spread widely on social media in China, causing alarm and denting Thailand's reputation as a safe destination for Chinese visitors.
Among those trapped was Chinese actor Wang Xing, who arrived in Thailand on a promise of getting a job and was abducted to Myanmar. He was quickly rescued after the incident circulated on social media.
An earlier crackdown on scam centers in Myanmar was initiated in late 2023, after China expressed embarrassment and concern over illegal casinos and scam operations along its border in Myanmar's northern Shan state.
Ethnic guerrilla groups with close ties to Beijing shut down many operations, and an estimated 45,000 Chinese nationals suspected of involvement were repatriated.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump: "Our Deal with China is DONE;" Tariffs on Chinese Goods Will RISE To 55%
Trump: "Our Deal with China is DONE;" Tariffs on Chinese Goods Will RISE To 55%

The Hill

time12 minutes ago

  • The Hill

Trump: "Our Deal with China is DONE;" Tariffs on Chinese Goods Will RISE To 55%

President Trump announced Wednesday a pending trade truce with China as the White House searches for momentum ahead of a looming deadline to strike dozens of other similar deals. The president's announcement was light on details but gave Trump and his team the chance to tout a victory during a crucial stretch for his trade agenda. Trump said the deal with China, struck following negotiations in London between his top economic officials and their Chinese counterparts, set tariff rates on U.S. and Chinese imports, allowed Chinese students to attend U.S. colleges and set terms for U.S. imports of Chinese rare earth minerals.

Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role
Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role

Yahoo

time14 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — U.S. troops have begun directly detaining immigrants accused of trespassing on a recently designated national defense zone along the southern U.S. border, in an escalation of the military's enforcement role, authorities said Wednesday U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Chad Campbell described in detail the first detentions by troops last week of three immigrants accused of trespassing in a national defense area near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Those migrants were quickly turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and are now among more than 1,400 migrants to have been charged with illegally entering militarized areas along that border, under a new border enforcement strategy from President Donald Trump's administration. Troops are prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil under the Posse Comitatus Act. But an exception known as the military purpose doctrine allows it in some instances. Authorities 'noticed three individuals crossing the protective barrier into the United States,' Campbell said. 'A Department of Defense response went to interdict those three individuals, told them to sit down. ... In a matter of three minutes, border patrol agents came in to apprehend. So that three minutes is that temporary detention' by the military. Trump has designated two national military defense areas along the southern U.S. border for New Mexico and a 60-mile (97-kilometer) stretch of western Texas, from El Paso to Fort Hancock, while transferring much of the land from the Interior Department to oversight by the Department of Defense for three years. The Trump administration plans eventually to add more militarized zones along the border, a military spokesman said Wednesday at a news conference in El Paso. 'We have been very clear that there will be additional National Defense Areas across the southern border,' said Geoffrey Carmichael, a spokesperson for an enforcement task force at the southern border. 'I won't speculate to where those are going to be.' Proponents of the militarized zones, including federal prosecutors, say the approach augments traditional efforts by Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement agencies to secure the border. 'These partnerships and consequences exist so that we can promote the most humane border environment we've ever had,' El Paso sector Border Patrol Chief Agent Walter Slosar said. 'We are dissuading people from entering the smuggling cycle ... to make sure that smugglers cannot take advantage of individuals who are trying to come into the United States.' Defense attorneys — and judges in some instances — are pushing back against the novel application of national security charges against immigrants who enter through those militarized zones — and carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six-month sentence for illegal entry. A judge in New Mexico has dismissed more than 100 national security charges against immigrants, finding little evidence that immigrants knew about the national defense areas. Those migrants still confronted charges of illegal entry to the U.S. In Texas, a Peruvian woman who crossed the U.S. border illegally was acquitted of unauthorized access to a newly designated militarized zone in the first trial under the Trump administration's efforts. U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons, who oversees western Texas, vowed to press forward with more military trespassing charges. 'We're gonna keep going forward on these NDA charges,' Simmons said. 'We are gonna still bring them, we may win on them, we may not. ... At the end of the day, you are not going to be allowed to stay in this country if you enter this country illegally.' Greater military engagement at the border takes place at the same time dozens of mayors from across the Los Angeles region banded together Wednesday to demand that the Trump administration stop the stepped-up immigration raids that have spread fear across their cities and sparked protests across the U.S. Trump has authorized the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard members to respond to immigration protests in LA. That directive brings the total number of Guard put on federal orders for the protests to more than 4,100. The Pentagon had already deployed about 700 Marines to the protests to the city.

Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role
Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role

Hamilton Spectator

time25 minutes ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — U.S. troops have begun directly detaining immigrants accused of trespassing on a recently designated national defense zone along the southern U.S. border, in an escalation of the military's enforcement role, authorities said Wednesday U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Chad Campbell described in detail the first detentions by troops last week of three immigrants accused of trespassing in a national defense area near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Those migrants were quickly turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and are now among more than 1,400 migrants to have been charged with illegally entering militarized areas along that border, under a new border enforcement strategy from President Donald Trump's administration. Troops are prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil under the Posse Comitatus Act. But an exception known as the military purpose doctrine allows it in some instances. Authorities 'noticed three individuals crossing the protective barrier into the United States,' Campbell said. 'A Department of Defense response went to interdict those three individuals, told them to sit down. ... In a matter of three minutes, border patrol agents came in to apprehend. So that three minutes is that temporary detention' by the military. Trump has designated two national military defense areas along the southern U.S. border for New Mexico and a 60-mile (97-kilometer) stretch of western Texas, from El Paso to Fort Hancock, while transferring much of the land from the Interior Department to oversight by the Department of Defense for three years. The Trump administration plans eventually to add more militarized zones along the border, a military spokesman said Wednesday at a news conference in El Paso. 'We have been very clear that there will be additional National Defense Areas across the southern border,' said Geoffrey Carmichael, a spokesperson for an enforcement task force at the southern border. 'I won't speculate to where those are going to be.' Proponents of the militarized zones, including federal prosecutors, say the approach augments traditional efforts by Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement agencies to secure the border. 'These partnerships and consequences exist so that we can promote the most humane border environment we've ever had,' El Paso sector Border Patrol Chief Agent Walter Slosar said. 'We are dissuading people from entering the smuggling cycle ... to make sure that smugglers cannot take advantage of individuals who are trying to come into the United States.' Defense attorneys — and judges in some instances — are pushing back against the novel application of national security charges against immigrants who enter through those militarized zones — and carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six-month sentence for illegal entry. A judge in New Mexico has dismissed more than 100 national security charges against immigrants, finding little evidence that immigrants knew about the national defense areas. Those migrants still confronted charges of illegal entry to the U.S. In Texas, a Peruvian woman who crossed the U.S. border illegally was acquitted of unauthorized access to a newly designated militarized zone in the first trial under the Trump administration's efforts. U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons, who oversees western Texas, vowed to press forward with more military trespassing charges. 'We're gonna keep going forward on these NDA charges,' Simmons said. 'We are gonna still bring them, we may win on them, we may not. ... At the end of the day, you are not going to be allowed to stay in this country if you enter this country illegally.' Greater military engagement at the border takes place at the same time dozens of mayors from across the Los Angeles region banded together Wednesday to demand that the Trump administration stop the stepped-up immigration raids that have spread fear across their cities and sparked protests across the U.S . Trump has authorized the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard members to respond to immigration protests in LA. That directive brings the total number of Guard put on federal orders for the protests to more than 4,100. The Pentagon had already deployed about 700 Marines to the protests to the city. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store