To help officers work with foreign embassies to stop foreign nationals from joining scam gangs in Myanmar, the Royal Thai Police (RTP ) is established an international coordination center.
Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, the RTP inspector-general, said the heart will enable cooperation between Thai authorities and foreign embassies in tackling call centre scams, especially in Mae Sot district of Tak, which has become a significant transit route for people joining illegal operations in Myawaddy, Myanmar.
He said,” I think this initiative will help reduce the number of foreigners passing through Mae Sot through the border into Myanmar.”
In his power as chairman of Thailand’s Action Taskforce for Information Technology Crime Suppression and the Anti-Human Smuggling Centre, Pol Gen Thatchai presided over a conference with representatives from 16 nations whose citizens are in great danger of being persuaded to work for scammers in Myawaddy on Friday.
Ministers and officials from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Tanzania, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Brazil, the United States, Morocco, India, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh and Russia attended the meeting.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and other organizations were current.
Prior to this, National Police Chief Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch put forth stringent measures to stop international thieves from entering Thailand, including stricter inspections of flights and border gates, as well as monitoring of accommodations and tourist destinations, investigations into go routes and safe homes, and tighter border security operations and cooperation.
Additionally, cooperation with international organizations has been in position to produce more substantial outcomes.
” Offices expressed strong support for Thailand’s efforts to strengthen cross-border law enforcement assistance and fight illegal border bridges”, said Pol Gen Thatchai.
The Thai police and international organizations will have access to real-time data sharing and quick communication through the global coordination center.
I urge all offices to participate in the synchronization center to stop call center con criminals. Starting today, the RTP did hold regular meetings to assess the situation and get ready for the setting up of the center, according to Pol Gen Thatchai.
Officials had first halt immigrants ‘ entry into Mae Sot in order to stop them from applying for jobs with call center operations in Myanmar, he said.
However, this is a hard work, he said.
Despite instructions from the authorities, some utilize Mae Sot as an access point towards what they believe is a better career with great earnings, whether with call center gangs or online gambling operators, in Myanmar, he said.
In many cases, however, they were just duped into working for criminals, he said.
” They come without a proper travel itinerary”, he said. We don’t know whether they have been deceived or are willing to be involved in criminal activity because authorities have no background information on who they are.
The international coordination center was established as a result of this information gap.
When a citizen of Mae Sot arrives without a detailed travel itinerary, it aims to make contact with embassies.
The foreign embassy staff can then speak with their fellow citizens to warn them against engaging in illegal immigration and work.
When Pol Gen Thatchai was asked if the center would assist in recovering victims who had already entered Myanmar, he said such cases must go through border coordination committees and Myanmar authorities.
Regarding China’s recent cooperation with Thai police on similar matters, he expressed confidence that the situation would improve as a result of greater intelligence sharing with Chinese police.
” We cannot take direct action in Myawaddy, so international coordination is our only option”, he said.
Prevention efforts have been in place not only in Mae Sot but also in other high-risk border areas in other provinces, such as Kanchanaburi, Surin and Chiang Rai.
Additionally, he added, police are considering enacting Sections 11 and 15 of the Immigration Act to make Mae Sot’s entry requirements stricter.
Thachai: We can’t take direct action