Over 260 foreigners freed from forced work for scammers in Myanmar

This photo shows foreign nationals handed over to Thai authorities as they cross the border from Myanmar on Feb. 12, 2025, in Phop Phra, Thailand, after being freed from scam syndicates in Myanmar

Over 260 foreign nationals have been freed from scam syndicates in Myanmar where they had been forced to work, the Thai army said Wednesday, with a Myanmar ethnic rebel group handing them over to authorities in northwestern Thailand.

The move came a week after Thailand cut power and fuel supplies to five locations in Myanmar towns near the border to crack down on phone scams and human trafficking based in the areas.

The forced labor victims protected by the authorities in Phop Phra district in Tak province were from about 20 countries, including China, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Brazil and Nepal, according to the army.

An Ethiopian man told Kyodo News that he had been forced to work for a scam operation managed by a Chinese group for two years, saying his job was making phone calls to trick people mainly from his home country.

“I had to make phone calls to get money. When I refused to do so, I faced punishment from the Chinese bosses,” he said, adding that an electric bar was used on him.

A 34-year-old man from the Philippines said he and other Filipinos tried to escape from a scam group several times but failed.

A Thai nonprofit organization focused on fighting human trafficking said Tuesday around 20 Japanese people were being forced to work for the scam operations in the border area, citing credible sources.

The victims were handed over to Thai authorities by a Myanmar ethnic rebel force called the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which is one of the groups controlling the area where the scam syndicates were operating.