Tak: Two Chinese nationals were intercepted yesterday by soldiers patrolling the Thai-Myanmar border in Phop Phra district, preventing them from falling victim to call-centre scam gangs, local authorities said.
The men, aged 27 and 36, were heading toward the border to be transported into the neighbouring country when they were stopped by a patrol from the Naresuan Task Force.
They were escorted to Mae Sot police station to file complaints and provided with accommodation while their relatives were contacted. The pair travelled to Tak after arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport.
This comes after 39 foreign nationals, who claimed to be victims of a call centre gang, were rescued by Thai authorities during a border patrol operation in late November.
They said they had been duped into crossing the border from Thailand to work on a project in Myawaddy, the Myanmar border town opposite Tak's Mae Sot, which is known as an operating base for call centre gangs.
Col Natthakorn Ruantip, a senior Naresuan Task Force officer, said yesterday that hundreds of foreign nationals found near the border had been detained for illegal entry since Oct 1 last year. These individuals were from 21 countries, including China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ethiopia and India.
Reports of foreign nationals going missing in Thailand have drawn wide attention as police investigate two more cases of missing Chinese nationals.
A male model, Yang Zeqi, went missing in late December, while the disappearance of a young woman, Wu Jiaqi, was reported to police this week. Both are suspected to be victims of human trafficking.
Last week Chinese actor Wang Xing, or Xingxing, went missing after arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport from Shanghai Pudong airport last Friday after being invited to an audition. He was last seen near the border in Tak's Mae Sot on Friday, and eventually, he was located in Myanmar. He returned to Thailand earlier this week.