A total of 266 Thais, many of whom were lured to work in Myanmar with promises of attractive pay, but were forced to work for Chinese-operated online scam gangs in Laukkai township in Shan state, were flown back to Bangkok early this morning.
Two AirAsia and Lion Air flights were chartered by the Thai Foreign Ministry to fly the Thais, six Filipinos and one Singaporean from Kunming in China’s Yunnan province to Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport at about 3am Monday morning.
Coordinated by the Thai embassy in Yangon and the Thai consular office in Kunming, with the help of the Myanmar and Chinese governments, all the evacuees were allowed to cross the Chinese border from Laukkai, the principal township in the Kokang self-administered zone, to Kunming on Saturday.
Evacuation of the Thais from Laukkai was, however, hampered by heavy fighting.
After going through the immigration process, all the evacuees were bussed to a Bangkok Metropolitan Administration(BMA) screening centre for background checks, to separate the victims of human trafficking from suspects in transnational crimes.
Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, the national police chief, said that officials from the ministries of Labour, Social Development and Human Security and Public Health, the BMA and anti-human trafficking police will join forces in screening the returning Thais.
Those classified as trafficking victims, who were lured and forced to work in Myanmar, will be assisted, while those who are suspected of being involved in criminal activities will be dealt with accordingly.
As for the six Filipinos and one Singaporean, their embassies in Bangkok have been notified of their arrival and they will handle their own citizens, according to a police source.
Laukkai has been identified as the hub of Chinese online scam gangs operating call centres, romance scams and online fraud, targeting victims in China and Thailand.
The Chinese government recently launched a crackdown on these gangs and has asked the Myanmar government to do likewise.
