Nearly 500 Indians cross over to Thailand from Myanmar after raid on scam centres

Nearly 500 Indian nationals crossed into Thailand following a crackdown on some notorious scam centres in Myanmar and India is working with Thai authorities to fly them home after completing the legal process, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

It is learnt that India is considering sending an aircraft to Thailand to repatriate the Indians, most of whom were victims of the scam centres in Myanmar's KK Park complex.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said nearly 500 Indians are at Mae Sot in western Thailand.

"The Indian government will send a plane to take them back directly," he said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Indian embassy in Bangkok is working closely with the Thai authorities on the issue.

"We are aware of Indian nationals who have been detained by Thai authorities," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

"They had crossed into Thailand from Myanmar over the past few days. 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," he said.

Jaiswal was responding to a question on the issue.

The Indian nationals are among over 1,500 people from 28 countries who have fled Myanmar following the crackdown on the scam centres, according to reports.

The scam centres in Myanmar are involved in transnational cyber scams.

According to a UN report, hundreds of trafficked individuals of various nationalities were forced to carry out fraud in the centres. Similar centres are reportedly located in Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia as well.

The underground operations are often linked to criminal networks that recruit victims globally, putting them to work in facilities principally in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia, the UN report said in May.

It is learnt that the Indians who fled from Myanmar to Thailand include some of the victims of the scam centres as well as those who were involved in their operation.

In March, India had brought back 549 nationals after they were freed from cyber scam centres along the Myanmar-Thailand border.