Thailand targets Cambodian scam centres as border dispute rages

The Star

4 hours ago

This photo taken on October 15, 2024 shows two Indonesian men, who previously fell victims of human trafficking syndicates and were forced to work as scammers in Cambodia, posing at a window as they speak to AFP in Jakarta. Bangkok will restrict border crossings to Cambodia across seven provinces, and halt exports of goods including fuel that abet transnational criminal activities. - AFP
BANGKOK: Thailand announced a raft of security and trade measures to cripple transnational crime syndicates in Cambodia, as Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra seeks an upper hand in a simmering border dispute with its neighbour.
Bangkok will restrict border crossings to Cambodia across seven provinces, and halt exports of goods including fuel that abet transnational criminal activities, Paetongtarn told reporters on Monday (June 23) after chairing a meeting of officials and security agencies.
Bangkok will coordinate its efforts with foreign governments and international organizations to dismantle the criminal hub that's estimated to generate more than 600 billion baht (US$18 billion) a year, she said.
The crackdown comes in the wake of a political crisis triggered by Paetongtarn's comments in a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which caused a key party to quit her coalition, reducing its majority in parliament. She has since vowed to deal more firmly with Cambodia in the border standoff.
The border row has escalated with the two countries curbing trade and people's mobility in tit-for-tat moves since an exchange of gunfire between troops last month. Cambodia suspended imports of Thai fuel and gas from Monday after the Thai army closed one of the border crossings.
The measures targeting scam centres follow similar efforts earlier this year, when Thailand cut off electricity, internet access and fuel supplies to some areas in Myanmar suspected to house cyber scam operations. Thailand and Cambodia had also jointly dismantled a scam centre that housed hundreds of trafficked foreign workers in casino city Poipet.
Across South-East Asia, the billion-dollar cyber scam operations have been expanding, particularly in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. They are often run by Chinese fugitives who fled their home nation in 2020 following a domestic crackdown. Earlier this year, thousands of workers were rescued from scam centres in Myanmar in a multinational crackdown that also included China.
"The criminal networks in Myanmar have resettled in Cambodia, so we need tighter measures to prevent Thais being scammed in the future,' Paetongtarn said.
As part of the crackdown, Thailand will ban foreign tourists from crossing over to Cambodia and curb air travel to Siem Reap for gambling purposes, Paetongtarn said.
Thai law enforcement agencies will ramp up inspection of so-called mule accounts and financial transactions of call centre gangs, and suspend all internet services and undersea internet gateways used by Cambodia's military and security agencies. Thailand will also impose sanctions on transnational criminals with money-laundering activities and seize or freeze their assets transferred abroad, according to Paetongtarn. - Bloomberg