Thailand and Cambodia are planning to establish a joint operations centre to tackle scam syndicates operating along the shared border after 125 Thai citizens were rescued in Poipet over the weekend.
Royal Thai Police inspector-general, Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, said the plan was drawn up following a discussion with Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.
He added the plan reflects the government's commitment to crack down on scam syndicates, which have claimed countless victims from all over the world.
The discussion, he said, came in the wake of a crackdown over the weekend, which saw 215 people rescued from scam compounds in Poipet in Cambodia, which lies on Thailand's eastern border.
Among them were 125 Thai citizens, Pol Gen Thatchai said, noting they are now under the custody of Cambodian police.
As the crackdown is still ongoing at several locations, the RTP inspector-general said the number of rescued victims is still expected to increase over the next couple of days.
Furthermore, Pol Gen Thatchai said, as Cambodian police are in charge of the operation, Thai authorities are unaware of the extent of the ongoing crackdown.
He then thanked Cambodian authorities for their support and cooperation in the fight against cross-border criminal syndicates.
When asked to compare the situation in Cambodia with the ongoing operation against scam syndicates along the border with Myanmar, Pol Gen Thatchai said most of the Thai victims were rescued from scam compounds along the border with Cambodia and Laos, not Myanmar.
Despite reports claiming that most of the mule accounts used in call centre scams were linked to crime syndicates based in Myawaddy, Myanmar, there have been no reports of Thais being lured to work there, according to Pol Gen Thatchai.
