MAE SOT, TAK — The Thai-Myanmar border has become a focal point following Myanmar military operations against scammers at the notorious “KK Park” compound in Myawaddy township, Karen State, located opposite Ban Mae Ku Tha Sung, Village No. 9, Mae Ku Subdistrict, Mae Sot District, Tak Province. The crackdown has forced hundreds of foreign nationals to flee across the border into Thailand.
On October 24, more than a thousand foreigners suspected of working as scammers fled across the border into Mae Sot District, with numbers continuing to rise hourly.
Among those fleeing, Indian nationals make up the largest group with 399 people, followed by 147 Chinese nationals. The evacuees also include Vietnamese, Filipinos, Ethiopians, Pakistanis, Indonesians, Nepalis, and citizens from various other countries around the world, including 31 Thai nationals.
Police Lieutenant General Choengron Rimpadee, spokesperson for the Immigration Bureau, revealed that immigration authorities in Tak are working in coordination with security forces to conduct thorough screenings of all individuals to verify identities, travel information, and criminal records using mobile biometric identification systems and patrol vehicles equipped with biometric scanners. He emphasized that legal proceedings will be strictly enforced.
Initial screening revealed that most detainees are Chinese nationals aged 20-45 without passports. Fingerprint and biometric comparisons found that some individuals have criminal records flagged in the system. Authorities are currently cross-checking international arrest warrants.
Other nationalities include Vietnamese, Indonesian, Pakistani, and Filipino nationals, all of whom remain in custody while evidence is gathered for legal proceedings.
Meanwhile, the Ratchamanu Task Force, in coordination with Mae Sot district administration, multiple police units, and village defense volunteers in Mae Sot, have established checkpoints and screening stations along the Moei River road bordering Thailand-Myanmar. Personnel have been deployed to natural crossing points to manage the 24-hour influx of foreign nationals fleeing across the border.
Authorities are providing humanitarian assistance, including food, drinking water, and medical supplies to all evacuees crossing into Tak Province. Officials are conducting intensive screening operations to identify individuals with criminal records and to separate victims who were deceived and forced into working as scammers.
Myanmar’s military has shut down KK Park, detaining more than 2,000 people and seizing dozens of Starlink satellite internet terminals, state media The Myanmar Military True News Information Team reported Monday.
These centers are notorious for recruiting workers from other countries under false pretenses, promising legitimate employment before holding them captive and forcing them into criminal activities.
Scam operations gained international attention last week when the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on organizers of a major Cambodian cyberscam gang, while its alleged ringleader was indicted by a federal court in New York.
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