Call-centre gangs release more than 100 employees back to Thailand

The utilities cutoff on the Myanmar border was proved effective as call-centre gangs released more than 100 employees back to Thailand on Sunday, according to a source in Tachilek, a city bordering Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.

The Thai National Security Council ordered cutting off power supply, internet connections and fuel exports to five Myanmar border areas last Wednesday to disrupt scam call-centre operations there.

A source said policemen and soldiers in Tachilek launched a crackdown against gambling dens in the city from Thursday to Saturday, and some gambling-den owners and employees were arrested.

Officials have also arrested many people allegedly involved with gambling websites and online scams who set up bases near Tachilek, a source said.

A source further said that gambling-website operators and scammers in Tachilek have released more than 100 employees back to Mae Sai district because of power shortages.

Scammers are expected to relocate elsewhere as Myanmar officials are making an effort to suppress them, a source said.

A source said the number of online-scamming employees’ vehicles parked at the First Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to work in Tachilek has dropped significantly.

Electricity and fuel in Tachilek are being provided to locals periodically, a source said, adding that villages near the city are facing fuel shortages and fuel-price increases.

(2025/02/09-00:00)