Mae Sot, Thailand, February 20, 2025 – A group of 50 Chinese nationals, extricated from scam centres in Myanmar, crossed into Thailand on Thursday and boarded a flight home as part of a multinational effort to repatriate approximately 600 Chinese victims.
The group, rescued from facilities on the Thai-Myanmar border, was escorted by armed soldiers at the Mae Sot crossing from the town of Myawaddy, a hotspot for criminally operated scam compounds.
Regional police official Raveepat Amornmuneepong confirmed that “all 50 have boarded the plane that the Chinese government arranged,” adding that Chinese authorities plan to sift through the group to identify victims trafficked into illegal online operations. “There are four flights today,” he said.
For years, criminal gangs have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people to scam centres across Southeast Asia, where victims are forced to work in illicit online scams, according to United Nations reports. The recent extraction at Mae Sot is part of Thailand’s renewed effort, supported by Beijing, to dismantle these compounds following high-profile rescues, including that of Chinese actor Wang Xing—who was lured with false promises of an acting job and later rescued from the Myawaddy area. Wang’s case ignited widespread public interest in China and spurred a grassroots initiative that compiled the names of nearly 1,800 Chinese reported to have been trafficked into Myanmar.
The multinational repatriation effort also involves authorities from Myanmar, where the junta has detained more than 1,500 people in the Myawaddy area, with state media reporting 250 detentions on Wednesday. “Officials are working with relevant agencies to collect personal information of these individuals for prompt repatriation,” said a report in the Global Light of Myanmar.
Among those rescued in earlier operations, some survivors of scam centres—part of a group of 260 who returned last week from Myawaddy and are now sheltering in a military camp—recounted suffering cuts and bruises from beatings and electrocution.
In total, nearly 7,000 people rescued from scam compounds in Myanmar are awaiting transfer to Thailand, according to Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The coordinated repatriation underscores growing regional efforts to combat the human trafficking networks that exploit vulnerable individuals across Southeast Asia.
Hundreds were rescued after a ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island....
Two people were confirmed dead and five missing in Gapyeong, South Korea, on Sunday, after heavy rain triggered landslides and flooding, raising the c...
U.S. President Donald Trump may meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea or China this autumn, with talks expected around the late October APEC s...
The city of Sweida in southern Syria saw a return to relative calm following days of clashes, as Bedouin fighters withdrew and international mediation...
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would intervene to assist Afghans who have been detained in the United Arab Emirates for years afte...
China has warned Myanmar's Kachin rebels it will block rare-earth imports from their territory unless they halt an offensive on a key junta stronghold, raising fears over the global supply of critical minerals.
The IFRC has received only 10% of its $122 million emergency appeal for Myanmar’s earthquake recovery, raising alarm as thousands remain homeless and vulnerable ahead of monsoon season.
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake has struck central Myanmar as the country recovers from last month’s deadly 7.7 temblor.
The death toll from Myanmar’s devastating earthquake has risen to 3,354, with 4,850 injured and 220 missing, according to state media. The grim figures emerge as the country struggles to cope with the aftermath of the quake amid a prolonged civil conflict.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
Iran launched 18 ballistic missiles late Sunday targeting the U.S. military’s Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest American installation in the Middle East.
Australian researchers have pioneered a low-cost and scalable plasma-based method to produce ammonia gas directly from air, offering a green alternative to the traditional fossil fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
Hundreds were rescued after a ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island.
Two people were confirmed dead and five missing in Gapyeong, South Korea, on Sunday, after heavy rain triggered landslides and flooding, raising the country’s storm-related death toll to 17.
U.S. President Donald Trump may meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea or China this autumn, with talks expected around the late October APEC summit as both sides seek progress on ending their tariff dispute.
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would intervene to assist Afghans who have been detained in the United Arab Emirates for years after fleeing their country when the Taliban seized control.
Bangladesh has signed a deal to import 700,000 tonnes of wheat annually from the United States over the next five years, aiming to ease trade tensions and secure tariff relief from the Trump administration, officials confirmed on Sunday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment