Most foreigners cross Thai border voluntarily to work in Myawaddy: police

Only 1% of foreigners who have crossed the Thai border to work in Myawaddy were deceived, as the majority travelled to the Myanmar border town voluntarily, the police inspector-general said on Thursday.

Pol Maj Gen Thatchai Pitanilabutr stated that he believed only 1% of foreigners who had crossed the border to work in Myawaddy were tricked into going there.

He explained that most foreigners travelled to the Myanmar border town to seek employment—either with call centre gangs or at entertainment complexes, restaurants, hotels, and casinos.

Thatchai cited an example of one such case, involving a Chinese entertainer who had been promised a job with a leading Thai entertainment company but was instead forced to cross the border and work for call centre gangs.

His comments came after around 260 call centre “victims” were repatriated to Thailand via Tak’s Phop Phra district by Myanmar authorities.

Thatchai clarified that not all of them were victims, as the Philippine government had informed the Royal Thai Police that at least one Filipino among them was a call centre gang member.

He said police would use the national referral mechanism to distinguish between victims and gang members. Those confirmed as victims would be deported to their home countries in cooperation with their embassies, while gang members would face legal action, he concluded.