India Repatriates Nationals Rescued from Myanmar Cyberscam Operations in Major Cross-Border Rescue

India is repatriating the first group of hundreds of its nationals on Thursday who escaped to Thailand from Myanmar last month, where most had been employed at a well-known online scam center.

The facility, referred to as KK Park on the outskirts of the border town of Myawaddy and reportedly housing a significant cybercrime operation, was targeted by Myanmar's military in mid-October to combat cross-border online fraud and illegal gambling activities.

An Indian air force transport aircraft departed Thailand bound for India, with another plane scheduled to leave later in the day, carrying approximately 270 of the 465 Indians slated for repatriation. The remaining individuals will depart Thailand next Monday, according to Major General Maitree Chupreecha, commander of the Thai army's northern Naresuan Task Force.

In March, India previously repatriated 549 citizens following an earlier crackdown on cybercrime operations at the Myanmar-Thai border.

Those currently being repatriated are among more than 1,500 individuals from 28 countries who fled the raid in Myawaddy. Across the border in the Thai town of Mae Sot, Thai authorities established temporary facilities to accommodate and process not only Indians but also Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Ethiopians, Kenyans, and other nationalities.

In April, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that hundreds of industrial-scale scam centers generate nearly $40 billion in annual profits.

Southeast Asia is the global epicenter for online scams, with hundreds of thousands of people believed to have been enticed to work in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, where many were forced to perpetrate global scams involving fake romances, fraudulent investments, and illegal gambling operations.

Human trafficking represents another major criminal aspect of these operations, as many workers were recruited under false pretenses offering legitimate employment, only to find themselves trapped in virtual slavery.

State media in military-governed Myanmar reported that the raid on KK Park was part of operations beginning in early September to suppress cross-border online scams and illegal gambling. Since the raid, witnesses and the Thai army have reported that portions of KK Park were destroyed by explosions.

However, independent Myanmar media, including The Irrawaddy, an online news service, have reported that organized criminal scams in Myanmar continue to operate in the Myawaddy area.

The cybercrime issue garnered significant attention last month when the United States and Britain imposed sanctions against organizers of a major Cambodian cyberscam network, and its alleged ringleader was indicted by a US federal court in New York.

In South Korea, the case of a young man killed after apparently being lured to work at a cyberscam operation in Cambodia caused public outrage.