India is cooperating with Thailand to return nearly 500 Indian nationals after fleeing a cybercrime hub in neighbouring Myanmar.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the ministry was aware of the happening and about the detained Indians in Thailand, and it's working with authorities to bring them back home.
Myanmar's KK Park is known for its involvement in transnational cyberscams. KK Park and other compounds nearby are run by Chinese criminal gangs and guarded by local militia groups aligned to Myanmar's military.
The move follows a military raid that forced hundreds, including Indians, to cross into Thailand, where they are under detention.
Around 700 trafficked workers, including Indians, fled the Chinese mafia-run 'KK Park compound' in Myanmar after the junta raided the facility last week.
The Indian government is now working with Thailand to repatriate nearly 500 nationals detained in the country who fled Myanmar after they were "tricked" into working at a Chinese mafia-run cybercrime hub there.
Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul said India planned to send a plane to take back its citizens who entered the country from Myanmar.
"We are aware of Indian nationals who have been detained by Thai authorities. They had crossed into Thailand from Myanmar over the past few days.
Our mission in Thailand is working closely with Thai authorities to verify their nationality and to repatriate them, after necessary legal formalities are completed in Thailand," MEA spokesman Jaiswal said.
Earlier Thai PM Anutin said the Indian ambassador will meet with the head of immigration to discuss speeding up the legal verification process for the nearly 500 Indian nationals ahead of their flight back to India.
"India has asked for cooperation from Thailand. They don't want this to burden us. They will send a plane to pick these victims up. The plane will land directly in Mae Sot," he was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying.
JUNTA RAID ON MYANMAR'S KK PARK
Starting last week, the Myanmar military conducted a series of military operations against the KK Park cybercrime compound, driving a large number of people - mostly foreign nationals who worked there - into the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
More than 1,500 people from 28 countries have fled and are now being looked after in Thailand, according to a statement by local authorities.
The border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have become hubs for online fraud since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, India had repatriated its citizens after thousands were freed from cyberscam centres along the Thai-Myanmar border following a regional crackdown.
The border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have become hubs for online fraud since the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the UN, billions of dollars have been earned from the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of people forced to work in the compounds.
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