India working with Thailand to repatriate Indians who fled Myanmar scam centre

More than 1,500 people from 28 countries, including India and China, have fled to the border town of Mae Sot in Thailand since last week

New Delhi: India said on Wednesday it is working with Thai authorities to repatriate its citizens who fled to Thailand from a notorious scam centre in Myanmar, even as Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that a special flight is expected to evacuate 500 Indians.

Myanmar’s military cracked down on the Chinese-backed KK Park, a cybercrime hub. (AFP)

More than 1,500 people from 28 countries, including India and China, have fled to the border town of Mae Sot in Thailand since last week after Myanmar’s military cracked down on the Chinese-backed KK Park, a cybercrime hub.

“We are aware of Indian nationals who have been detained by Thai authorities. They had crossed into Thailand from Myanmar over the past few days,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

“Our mission in Thailand is working closely with Thai authorities to verify their nationality and to repatriate them after necessary legal formalities are completed in Thailand,” Jaiswal added.

Around 500 Indian nationals had illegally crossed over into Thailand since last week, with most of them concentrated in Mae Sot, people familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity. This figure includes mostly victims of the cybercrime rings in KK Park, which allegedly lured Indians with promises of lucrative jobs, and others who were involved in running scam centres, the people added.

“The matter has been complicated because many of these people do not have passports or entered Thailand illegally after the crackdown by the Myanmar military,” a person said.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin said the Indian ambassador would work with the head of immigration to speed up the legal verification process for the 500 Indian nationals before the special flight repatriates them. “India has asked for cooperation from Thailand; they don’t want this to burden us,” Anutin was quoted as saying by Reuters.

There was no official word from the Indian side on when the flight would reach Thailand, though Anutin said the plane would land directly in Mae Sot.

In March, India had brought back 549 nationals freed from cybercrime centres along the Myanmar-Thailand border in two flights operated by a military aircraft.

Myanmar’s sprawling KK Park is a notorious compound where several Chinese criminal gangs operate transnational cyber scams. The compound is guarded by local militia groups with links to Myanmar’s military commanders.