"Thailand" has raised bilateral cooperation by holding a meeting to report on efforts to combat transnational call center gangs and human trafficking in the United States.
On 29 Apr 2026 GMT+7, Police General Thatchai Pitanilabutr, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police and Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Center, along with a senior delegation including Mrs. Hattaya Koosakul, Director-General of the Americas and South Pacific Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Suriya Jindawong, Ambassador to Washington, and representatives from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and the Ministry of Labour, attended a meeting in Washington D.C., United States, from 21 to 25 Apr 2026 GMT+7. They reported on Thailand's work to prevent and suppress human trafficking, call center gangs, and sexual abuse of children and youth.
Police General Thatchai said this meeting aimed to elevate bilateral cooperation, with the Thai delegation consulting senior U.S. government officials. They learned about key policies of President Donald Trump focusing on decisive suppression of call center gangs, which caused over 6 billion U.S. dollars (approximately 193.9 billion baht) in losses to American citizens last year. The main call center operations are spread across ASEAN, especially in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, where they deceive people from more than 40 countries, including Thais, to force labor in cross-border fraud schemes.
They also presented in-depth intelligence and investigations regarding the bust of a major call center operation near the Chong Chom border in Cambodia, where over 10,000 individuals of various nationalities were found to have been deceived and forced to work in romance scams and investment frauds. Additionally, key evidence indicating severe human rights violations was discovered, including lists and phone numbers of over 10,000 targeted American citizens.
Furthermore, authorities found detention-like rooms, equipment believed to be used for torturing disobedient workers, as well as X-ray and medical laboratory rooms. This raised suspicions of illegal human organ trafficking in the black market or unethical experiments. The U.S. authorities take these issues very seriously and agreed to enhance intelligence sharing and joint investigations with Thai authorities to pursue influential figures or involved parties in Cambodia.
Ms. Jeanine Pirro, District Attorney of the District of Columbia, U.S., and head of the Presidential-ordered Scam Center Strike Force, praised the Royal Thai Police under Police General Thatchai's leadership for establishing the Warroom IAC operation center. This center integrates data with financial institutions and mobile network providers, enabling rapid account freezes and asset recovery for victims. Close cooperation with the FBI has also led to numerous arrests and asset seizures.