More than 200 foreigners rescued from Cambodian scam centre

Bangkok – Cambodian police have rescued more than foreigners, including 109 Thais, from a scam compound in Poipet city following stepped-up collaboration to combat scam gangs between Thailand and Cambodia.

The operation followed an urgent meeting between Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, the Royal Thai Police inspector-general, and Cambodian high-ranking police officers on February 21 to discuss operational plans to eradicate call centre scam gangs.

On February 22, Cambodian police raided a three-storey building in Banteay Meanchey province, opposite Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district, eastern Thailand, on a tip-off that Chinese scammers were renting the building to operate online scams and gambling businesses. As the result, Cambodian police rescued 215 foreign nationals, including 109 Thais (54 of them women), 50 Pakistanis, 48 Indians, five Taiwanese and three Indonesians.

Thai government spokesman Jirayu Huangsub said intelligence reports from Thai authorities indicated that Thai nationals were among those duped into working for the gang in this building. Cambodian police were questioning them and recording their personal data.

Jirayu said the 109 Thais will undergo a screening process to determine whether they were victims or accomplices.

Meanwhile, a total of 621 Chinese nationals trafficked into Myanmar to work for scam gangs were rescued and repatriated to China from Mae Sot airport in Tak province on February 20-22.

Myanmar has handed over more than 100 Chinese scam centre workers to be repatriated through Thailand, the third batch in a major crackdown on the illegal operations.

The Thai government is committed to protecting Thais from criminal networks and has already made substantial progress.