Hong Kong woman rescued from Chinese call-centre gang in Myanmar

A 31-year-old Hong Kong woman has been rescued from a Chinese call-centre gang operating in Myanmar, thanks to a joint effort by the Royal Thai Army and Royal Thai Police. Authorities acted on an alert that Hong Kong citizens were being forced into illegal work.

Thai authorities rescued a Hong Kong woman from a Chinese call-centre gang operating on the Myanmar side of the border near Tak on Sunday.

The rescue of the 31-year-old Hong Kong passport holder was carried out through cooperation between the Royal Thai Army and the Royal Thai Police, following an earlier alert from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) that 12 Hong Kong citizens might have been forced to work for Chinese call-centre gangs or online gambling websites operating in Myanmar.

The ONCB informed the army that the Hong Kong citizens wished to cross the border into Thailand from an area south of Myawaddy, which lies opposite Tak’s Phop Phra district.

The area is known to be a major hub for Chinese call-centre gangs and online gambling operators.After receiving the information from the ONCB, the army sought assistance from Pol Col Nat Promthep, a police attaché at the Thai Embassy in Rangoon, to coordinate with commanders of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which controls the area.

The army announced that coordination with the DKBA commanders led to the rescue of the Hong Kong woman, who was safely brought back to Thailand on Sunday.

She will be sent back to Hong Kong as soon as possible, the army said.

(2025/02/02-00:00)