India repatriates hundreds lured to work in cyber scams
The first batch of 270 Indian nationals who were allegedly working in cyber centers in Myanmar have been flown home from Thailand
The Indian government has repatriated the first batch of its nationals who fled to Thailand from Myanmar after a raid on a notorious online scam center in the country. Two Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft brought back 270 people, including 26 women, from the Thai border town of Mae Sot on Thursday.
The Embassy of India in Bangkok and Consulate of India in Chiang Mai, along with various agencies of the Thai government facilitated the repatriation, according to the Indian mission’s post on X. The embassy also cautioned Indian citizens to verify employment proposals before taking up job offers abroad.
A total of 465 Indians are expected to be repatriated, with those remaining scheduled to leave Thailand next Monday. The evacuees crossed from Myanmar and were detained by Thai authorities for violating immigration laws.
Embassy of India, Bangkok and Consulate of India in Chiang Mai in close coordination with various agencies of the Royal Thai Government have facilitated repatriation of 270 Indian nationals, including 26 women, from Mae Sot, Thailand to India by two special flights operated by… pic.twitter.com/aRPJPf9Gu7
A cyber center in Myanmar known as KK Park was raided by the country’s military in mid-October in a crackdown on cross-border online scams and illegal gambling. According to media reports, more than 1500 citizens of various countries, indulging China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Kenya, and India, fled the raids. Temporary facilities were set up in the Thai town of Mae Sot to house and process those fleeing.
Networks of scammers based in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines have provoked increasing concern in recent years, with the UN estimating that they take in tens of billions of dollars every year from victims across the world, an AP report said. Their methods vary widely, ranging from fraudulent investments to romance-based scams.
Indians lost about $820 million to online scams in the first five months of 2025, the newspaper Indian Express said, citing a report for the country’s Home Ministry. More than half the money was lost to scammers based in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. The Indian government recently held a meeting with Cambodian officials in New Delhi to discuss a joint plan to tackle the issue of scam centers.
Earlier this year, India repatriated 549 of its citizens who had been rescued from cyber-crime centers along the Myanmar-Thailand border during similar raids.
آرتی
