(Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP / TO GO WITH 'INDONESIA-CRIME-SCAM-CAMBODIA-MYANMAR, FOCUS' BY MARCHIO GORBIANO) [Image credit details for context.] Tags: [photo credit, crime, scam, Myanmar, Cambodia]
A human rights group revealed that over 5,000 scam gang victims remain imprisoned in call center facilities near the Myanmar border connected to Thailand, calling for assistance for these individuals. Tags: [human rights, scam victims, Myanmar, border, Thailand, detention]
On 23 June 2026, the Civil Society Network for Helping Human Trafficking Victims (CSNHTV), based in Thailand, disclosed that more than 5,300 people remain trapped inside online scam centers in Myanmar near the Thai border, despite a regional crackdown last year. Tags: [human trafficking, CSNHTV, Myanmar, online scam, detention, border, crackdown]
CSNHTV sent a letter to Thai police urging action, stating many detainees are foreigners held in four locations controlled by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), an ethnic armed group in Myanmar. Tags: [CSNHTV, Thai police, detainees, foreign nationals, DKBA, Myanmar]
According to CSNHTV, approximately 1,600 detainees are mainland Chinese and about 200 are Myanmar nationals. Others include Filipinos, Taiwanese, Malaysians, Brazilians, Russians, Kenyans, Ugandans, Rwandans, and Zimbabweans. Tags: [nationalities, detainees, human trafficking, Myanmar, China, Africa]
"Many of these bases remain intact or have not undergone rescue operations to free all remaining victims," the network stated. "This allows these criminal operations to continue online fraud and human trafficking, causing global harm especially in the U.S. and Europe." Tags: [criminal bases, ongoing operations, online fraud, human trafficking, global impact]
Call center gangs in Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Cambodia, run illegal online networks aimed at defrauding people worldwide. Tags: [call centers, Southeast Asia, online fraud, illegal networks, Myanmar, Cambodia]
These online scam centers expanded significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and were initially linked to loosely regulated casinos and online gambling. Now, according to the United Nations, the business has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Tags: [scam centers, COVID-19 pandemic, casinos, online gambling, UN, multibillion-dollar industry]
A February United Nations report found that most of these operations employ foreign workers lured by human trafficking gangs who suffer abuse. Tags: [UN report, foreign workers, human trafficking, abuse, exploitation]
Investigations uncovered cases of "torture and other cruel treatment, sexual abuse and exploitation, forced abortions, starvation, solitary confinement, and severe human rights violations." Tags: [torture, sexual abuse, forced abortion, starvation, solitary confinement, human rights violations]
"These countless repeated abuses are shocking and deeply distressing," said Folker Turk, the United Nations Human Rights Chief. Tags: [UN Human Rights, Folker Turk, abuse, torture, human rights]
"Yet instead of receiving protection, care, rehabilitation, and access to justice and compensation, victims often face disbelief, social stigma, and may even be further punished," he added. Tags: [victim protection, justice, stigma, punishment, rehabilitation]
Follow international news: Tags: [international news, media]https://www.thairath.co.th/news/foreign Tags: [news website, foreign news, Thairath]
Source: Tags: [source]aljazeera Tags: [Al Jazeera, news source]