New Delhi: Indian authorities have begun questioning 270 nationals who were flown back from Thailand after fleeing a large cyber scam operation in Myanmar’s Myawaddy region. The group, which included 26 women, returned to India on Thursday aboard two C-130J Super Hercules aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force.
According to official sources, the Indian nationals had crossed illegally into Thailand’s Mae Sot town after escaping the KK Park cyber scam centre, where thousands of foreign citizens were reportedly being forced into online fraud. Thai authorities imposed fines on the group for illegal entry and confiscated several electronic devices, mobile phones and multiple passports recovered during immigration checks. The items had allegedly been hidden before boarding the evacuation flights.
The individuals are being questioned to determine whether they were victims of trafficking or knowingly participated in online scam operations carried out from Myawaddy. Investigators are examining their travel routes, recruitment channels and possible links to transnational cyber networks active across Southeast Asia.
Officials said India is preparing to bring back around 200 more nationals currently in Mae Sot, and they too will undergo detailed questioning upon return. Between October 23 and 30, nearly 465 Indians are believed to have crossed into Thailand from Myanmar as the scam centre came under heavy security pressure.
The first group repatriated was initially transported to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands before being shifted to New Delhi in an IL 76 aircraft. The evacuations were coordinated by the Indian embassy in Bangkok and the consulate in Chiang Mai in cooperation with Thai authorities.
The Indian nationals were part of a larger exodus of roughly 1,500 people from 28 countries who fled the crackdown in KK Park. The centre is one of several cybercrime hubs across Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia. A United Nations report earlier this year noted that criminal networks trafficked individuals into these facilities, where they were forced to carry out online fraud.
Indian missions in both Thailand and Myanmar continue efforts to identify and repatriate citizens who remain trapped in such scam centres.
