Foreigners flee Myanmar scam gang into Thailand’s Mae Sot

TAK: Thirty-nine foreign nationals who claimed to be victims of a call centre gang were rescued Monday morning by Thai authorities during a border patrol operation.
Officers from various units, including the Naresuan Task Force and border patrol police, were patrolling a Thai-Myanmar border area in Mae Sot district when they found the foreigners near a village.
Of them, 32 were from Sri Lanka, five came from Nepal, and there was one each from Malaysia and Russia. All were carrying identification papers. No illegal items were found on them during a search.
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. 
The area is known as an operating base for call centre gangs.
They said they were forced to work for a call centre gang believed to be run by Chinese nationals. They managed to escape and crossed the Moei River to the Thai side.
According to Thai officials, all the foreigners looked relieved when they were found and recalled the story of their escape after having some food and drink.
Their respective embassies have been contacted and the group was escorted to the provincial immigration police office from where they will be sent back home under the National Referral Mechanism, said the officials.