Myanmar has handed over more than 100 Chinese scam centre workers to be repatriated through Thailand, the third batch in a major crackdown on the illegal operations.
Hanoi (VNA) - Myanmar has handed over more than 100 Chinese scam centre workers to be repatriated through Thailand, the third batch in a major crackdown on the illegal operations.
Myanmar's government said in a statement that the third group of 111 Chinese nationals was handed over on February 22 via the Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge 2 at the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
Live footage on Thai media outlet The Reporters showed people disembarking from two double-decker coaches and boarding a Southern China Airlines plane.
Hundreds of foreigners are expected to be sent home from scam compounds in Myanmar over the coming weeks. The compounds are run by criminal gangs and staffed by foreigners, many of whom say they were trafficked and forced to swindle people around the world in protracted internet scams.
Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai described the scam centre problem as a complex transnational crime in a post on his official Facebook account.
In addition to stopping fuel and electricity supplies to suspected scam hubs on the Myanmar side, he had instructed senior Thai police to bolster border control measures, he added.
𝄹 Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun on February 21 praised the strong cooperation between China, Myanmar and Thailand to crack down on cross-border scam networks./.
The Myanmar authorities on February 18 detained 273 foreign nationals from scam compounds along the border with Thailand as part of a crackdown on illegal online activities.
An estimated 220,000 people were estimated to have been tricked into working for romance-investment schemes, crypto fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling in Myanmar and Cambodia in 2023.
To date, among the 260 individuals from 20 countries who have been rescued from call centres in Myanmar, 258 have been identified as trafficking victims.
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Vietnam plays an important role in Southeast Asia’s economic growth and is a key partner of her country in realising the shared vision of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous region, said Robyn Mudie, First Assistant Secretary of Office of Southeast Asia (OSA) – Southeast Asia Regional and Mainland Division at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
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Indonesian Ambassador Rina P. Soemarno, who currently serves as Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Prague, emphasised the spirit of regional solidarity and cooperation, and the importance of enhancing ASEAN–Czech Republic relations.
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The consumer index of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), fell to 51.7 in July from 52.7 in the previous month. The sluggish economy and the trade war, as well as high living costs, continue to undermine confidence, the university said.
Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly Istvan Jakab expressed his hope for further deepening Hungary’s ties with ASEAN countries and called for their support for Hungary’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
The 30-storey tower crumbled seconds after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit neighbouring Myanmar on March 28. The partially built high-rise, meant to house the State Audit Office (SAO), was the only building in Thailand to collapse, killing 89 people on the site, mostly construction workers.
Indonesia’s waste generation is projected to exceed 50 million tonnes in 2025. Of the total, more than 20 million tonnes could potentially enter the ocean through rivers, coastal areas, small islands, ports, and marine activities, and thereby, pose a risk to coastal ecosystems and marine biota.
Indonesia is accelerating plans to increase lithium imports, particularly from Australia, in a bid to fill gaps in the electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain and realise its ambition of becoming a global EV manufacturing hub.
