Military police on Friday arrested 689 individuals during a raid on an online gambling business in the Thai-Myanmar border town of Tachileik.
According to local media reports, authorities received a tip off and raided a compound near or at the 1G1-7 Hotel, resulting in the arrest of 540 local individuals, 148 Thai national and one Chinese suspect.
Officers also seized 400 computers, 270 smartphones, 170 motorbikes and 10 cars. The operation was carried out in close cooperation between Myanmar and Thai authorities, and as part of government efforts to clamp down on online scams targeting Thai internet users.
Tachileik is a border town in the Shan State of eastern Myanmar and has become popular with Thai shoppers and international visitors over the years. Most of the individuals that were detained in this latest raid are said to be young people and this wasn’t the first time that authorities took action against alleged scammers.
Last year, more than 500 Thai individuals were repatriated after raids on suspected scam centers in the same state, with 174 of them being identified as victims of trafficking and forced labor. The remaining individuals stood accused of being involved with the running of the operation.
