India on Wednesday said it is working closely with Thai authorities to repatriate Indian nationals detained in Thailand after fleeing a military raid on a cybercrime hub in Myanmar.
“We are aware of Indian nationals who have been detained by Thai authorities. They had crossed into Thailand from Myanmar over the past few days,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to media queries on Indian nationals detained in Thailand.
“Our Mission in Thailand is working closely with Thai authorities to verify their nationality and to repatriate them, after necessary legal formalities are completed in Thailand,” he said.
According to the Bangkok Post, several Indian nationals crossed into Thailand following a raid by the Myanmar military on the KK Park compound, a site notorious for running international cyber scams. The military operation forced hundreds of foreign workers at the compound to flee across the border into the Thai town of Mae Sot.
Earlier on Wednesday, Nagesh Singh, the Ambassador of India to Thailand, met with Pol. Lt. Gen.Panumas Boonyalug, Commissioner of Immigration Bureau of Royal Thai Police, and discussed early repatriation of Indians who have recently crossed over from the scam centres in Myawaddy, Myanmar to Mae Sot in Thailand.
Reports indicated that around 500 Indian nationals have fled Myanmar and crossed into Thailand after an escalating security situation in southeastern Myanmar.
The government of India has been making sustained efforts to secure the release and repatriation of Indian nationals lured to various South East Asian countries, including Myanmar, with fake job offers. These persons were subsequently made to indulge in cybercrime and engage in other fraudulent activities in scam centres operating in regions along the Myanmar-Thailand border, the MEA has emphasised earlier.
Dozens of Indian nationals have been victims of Myawaddy scam compounds and repatriated earlier through Mae Sot in the Myanmar-Thailand border region.
Thai authorities said as of Friday morning, 1,667 people from at least 10 countries, including India, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, had entered Thailand after the raid, according to the Bangkok Post.