India brings home nearly 300 citizens rescued from Southeast Asian scam centres

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has brought home nearly 300 of its nationals who were lured to various southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, with fake job offers and made to engage in cybercrime and other fraudulent activities in scam compounds, the government said. 

 

Thousands of people have been freed from cyber scam centres along the Thailand-Myanmar border this year as countries work together to crack down on the criminal networks.

 

China and Indonesia repatriated some of their citizens last month. 

 

"Indian embassies in Myanmar and Thailand have coordinated with local authorities to secure the repatriation of 283 Indian nationals today by an IAF (Indian Air Force) aircraft from Mae Sot in Thailand," India’s foreign ministry said late on Monday. 

 

Thailand arrested 100 people last week as a part of its crackdown on the scam centres.

 

Criminal gangs have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people to the centres, which generate billions of dollars a year from illegal online schemes, according to the United Nations.

 

India also warned its citizens against the scams, advising them to "verify" the credentials of foreign employers and check the "antecedents" of recruiting agents and companies before taking up job offers. 

 

 (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in New Delhi; Editing by Kate Mayberry)