China, Myanmar, and Thailand are joining forces to dismantle scam centres operating in Myanmar.
A new coordination centre in Bangkok will be established by China and Thailand to investigate and combat the growing threat of scam networks along their shared borders.
The project is expected to begin in February 2025.
This comes after China‘s Ministry of Public Security apprehended the suspect linked to the trafficking of a Chinese actor to Myanmar under the impression that he was going for a film contract in Thailand.
The arrest of the major criminal suspect was achieved through the combined efforts of the ministry’s task force, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, and Thai law enforcement, the ministry announced in a statement on Sunday evening.
The suspect, identified only by the surname Yan, was returned to China on Saturday. Further details about the case were not disclosed.
Wang Xing, a 31-year-old Chinese actor, had travelled to Thailand earlier this month after receiving an unexpected offer to join a film production in the country.
Upon arriving in Bangkok, Wang was abducted and taken to an online scam compound. This facility is one of many sites where, according to the United Nations, hundreds of thousands of individuals have been coerced into working for criminal organisations that operate fraudulent telecommunications schemes across the region.
Wang’s ordeal attracted widespread public attention after his girlfriend launched a social media campaign to highlight his plight. He was eventually rescued by Thai police, who discovered him in Myanmar.
The ministry stated that law enforcement would intensify efforts to dismantle scam centres, strengthen international collaboration, and work closely with affected countries to arrest those involved and rescue Chinese citizens.
The scam operations, which have flourished in Southeast Asia since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, generate billions of dollars annually for organised crime groups, many of which have links to China.
