India prepares flights from Thailand for Myanmar scam hub workers

India was to repatriate 500 of its citizens from Thailand after a crackdown on a Myanmar scam hub led to workers fleeing over the border, the Thai prime minister said on Wednesday.

Sprawling compounds where internet tricksters target people with romance and business cons have thrived along Myanmar's loosely governed border during its civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup.

Since last week, one of the most notorious hubs — KK Park — has been roiled by apparent raids, with hundreds fleeing over the frontier river to the Thai town of Mae Sot.

The upheaval followed an AFP investigation, which this month revealed rapid construction at border scam centres, despite a much-publicised crackdown in February.

More than 1,500 people from 28 countries had crossed into Thailand between the start of the crackdown on KK Park and Tuesday evening, according to the administration of the border province of Tak.

"Nearly 500 Indians are at Mae Sot," Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters.

"The Indian government will send a plane to take them back directly."

???????? VIDEO Myanmar scam centre raid sends people fleeing to Thailand

Men swim across the Moei river to Thailand after a military raid on KK Park, one of Myanmar's most notorious scam centres, sent hundreds of people fleeing across the border. pic.twitter.com/m0jTEPJexb

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 24, 2025

Myanmar’s scam hubs

Many people staffing the fraud factories say they were trafficked into the hubs, although analysts say workers also go willingly to secure attractive salary offers.

Anutin did not say whether the Indian nationals were being treated as criminals or victims, and the Indian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Experts say Myanmar's military has long turned a blind eye to scam centres which profit its militant allies who are crucial collaborators in their fight against rebels.

The junta has also come under pressure from its military ally China, to halt scam operations, as Chinese citizens are both involved in and victimised by them.

The February crackdown saw around 7,000 workers repatriated and Thailand enforced a cross-border internet blockade in a bid to throttle off the fraud factories.

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Source: TRT