BANGKOK: The Indian Embassy here in close coordination with its counterpart at Yangon in neighbouring Myanmar has ensured repatriation of 549 Indians after rescuing them from scam centres operating in areas near the Myanmar-Thailand border, officials said on Wednesday.
The Indian nationals were repatriated through Mae Sot in Thailand to India on March 10 and 11 by two special flights, according to the Indian Embassy in Thailand.
“This is part of Government of India’s sustained efforts to secure release and repatriation of Indian nationals who were lured with fake job offers and were made to work in scam-centres in the neighbouring countries of Thailand,” the Embassy said in a post on X.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Indian Embassy at Yangon said in a post on X: “In coordination with Myanmar's Union authorities and local groups, 283 Indian nationals at scam compounds in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar were released and repatriated yesterday through Mae Sot in Thailand. Strongly reiterate our advice against such job offers.”
It followed up with another post on Wednesday that pointed out how “the second batch of 266 Indian nationals from scam centres in Myawaddy were repatriated to India via Mae Sot yesterday.”
The Indian Embassy thanked “the border authorities and @IndiainThailand for seamless coordination and support” and reiterated: “We firmly advise against such job offers in the area.”
Earlier on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in New Delhi that the government of India has been making sustained efforts to secure the release and repatriation of Indian nationals lured to various southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, with fake job offers.
“These persons were subsequently made to indulge in cybercrime and engage in other fraudulent activities in scam centres operating in regions along the Myanmar-Thailand border,” MEA said in a statement on Monday.
The post by the Indian Embassy at Thailand also advised the Indian nationals to verify credentials of foreign employers and check the antecedents of recruiting agents and companies, before taking up job offers.
The MEA statement echoed the sentiment: “The government of India wishes to reiterate its caution, circulated earlier from time to time through advisories and social media posts, about such rackets.
“Indian nationals are once again advised to verify credentials of foreign employers through Missions abroad and check the antecedents of recruiting agents and companies before taking up a job offer.”
According to media reports, Myawaddy and Tachilek near Thailand-Myanmar border have been known as safe havens for criminal syndicates that have trapped thousands of people from across South Asia forcing them to run online scam centres.
These scam centres have duped billions of dollars from victims from across the world through bogus investment promises and illegal gambling schemes.
The media report also said that authorities from Thailand and Myanmar jointly carried out an operation to release more than 7,000 people from different countries from these scam centres, after which their respective governments started efforts to repatriate them.