Nearly 300 Indians repatriated from Myanmar scam centres
Authorities in Myanmar, under pressure from ally China, have cracked down in recent weeks on the scam compounds that have flourished in the country's lawless borderlands.
Around 7,000 workers from at least two dozen countries have been freed, the majority of them Chinese, but many have been languishing in squalid conditions in temporary holding camps on the Myanmar-Thai border.
A group of Indian officials crossed into Myanmar to accompany seven buses taking the freed Indian nationals -- as well as three more carrying their luggage -- to Mae Sot airport in northwest Thailand.
The Indian government sent a C-17 transport plane to carry the 266 men and 17 women back home, with a second batch of 257 due to be flown out on Tuesday. China has repatriated more than 2,000 of its nationals freed from Myanmar scam centres through Thailand since the three countries began their crackdown late last month.
Scam centres have sprung up in Myanmar's border areas in recent years as part of a criminal industry worth billions of dollars a year.
Thousands of foreign workers staff the centres, trawling social media for victims to fleece, often through romance or investment cons.
Many workers say they were lured or tricked into taking the work and suffered beatings and abuse.
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