BEIJING: Myanmar authorities have handed over 31,000 telecom fraud suspects to China since law enforcement officers from both countries launched a crackdown on online scams in September, Chinese authorities said on Tuesday (Nov 21).
The suspects included 63 “financiers” and ring-leaders of crime syndicates that have cheated Chinese citizens of large sums of money, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.
“The crackdown has achieved significant battle results,” the ministry said.
More than 100,000 people engage in telecom fraud each day in at least 1,000 scam centres in Myanmar, which shares a border with southwest China, Chinese state media has reported.
Chinese police started to crack down on the fraud in September and this month, police launched what they said were “swift attacks” on crime gangs in Myanmar.
The Myanmar ringleader of a gang committed suicide last week while on the run from Myanmar authorities, Chinese police said. Three members of his gang were later handed over to Chinese police.