BANGKOK – More than 5,300 people remain trapped in online scam centres near the Myanmar-Thailand border, according to a human rights group, more than a year after a major multinational crackdown freed thousands in the region.
The Civil Society Network for Human Trafficking Victim Assistance (CSNHTV) said in a June 22 letter to Thai police that foreign nationals are being held across four locations inside areas controlled by a Myanmar militia.
The group estimated that those still detained include around 1,600 Chinese nationals, about 200 Myanmar citizens, 20 Thais, and others from countries including the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brazil, Russia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
The United Nations has previously warned that scam centres in South-east Asia, including those in Myanmar and Cambodia, operate large-scale online fraud networks generating billions of dollars annually.
Many of these facilities, particularly along the Myanmar-Thailand border, are believed to be run by criminal syndicates using trafficked foreign workers who are often subjected to abuse and coercive conditions.
Thailand led a regional effort in 2025 to dismantle such operations along its borders, rescuing about 5,000 people from scam hubs in Myanmar’s Myawaddy area, although illegal activity has continued in the region.
In its letter, CSNHTV said many victims remain confined in compounds located within areas controlled by Myanmar's Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) militia.
"Many of these compounds have yet to be dismantled or subjected to rescue operations to free all remaining victims.
"As a result, these syndicates continue to engage in online fraud and human trafficking, causing harm to victims around the world, particularly in the United States and Europe,” it said.
Two DKBA officials did not respond to requests for comment, while a spokesperson for Myanmar’s military-backed government also did not immediately address queries regarding ongoing enforcement efforts.
