Myanmar ready to hand over about 1,000 foreign nationals rescued from cyber scam centers. Authorities vowed to intensify a crackdown against transnational criminal groups. About 1,030 foreign nationals were rescued from online scam centers in the past three weeks. An estimated 220,000 people were estimated to have been tricked into working for romance-investment schemes, crypto fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling in Myanmar and Cambodia alone. The scam center victims are mostly from Asian countries including China and India while some others came from East Africa, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Information. The junta launched a military operation to combat online scams under pressure from its neighbors Thailand and China after a high-profile trafficking of a Chinese actor put the spotlight on criminal activities across the Thai borders. The military has raided camps in the northeast and eastern Shan State besides targeting Shwe Kokko area controlled by a junta-allied armed group called Kayin State Border Guard Force. It will coordinate the repatriation with China, Myanmar and Thailand, spokesman Major Naing Maung Zaw said by phone.
