Why Thailand-Myanmar border became hub for fraud gangs preying on Chinese nationals

The recent kidnapping of a Chinese actor on the Thailand-Myanmar border has turned the spotlight on the international criminal gangs responsible for luring Chinese citizens abroad and forcing them to take part in telecoms scams.

Wang Xing was duped into flying to Thailand by a bogus casting agent on the pretext of taking part in a film shoot.

He was then taken to the border town of Mae Sot, where he was abducted and taken into Myanmar and then imprisoned in various compounds run by fraud gangs.

The publicity generated by his disappearance — largely thanks to his girlfriend's tireless campaigning on social media and support from celebrities — and his subsequent rescue has hit Thailand's tourist industry after many Chinese nationals cancelled their planned trips over Lunar New Year, one of the peak seasons for visitors.

But while Wang was freed many thousands of Chinese trafficking victims are still believed to be trapped in Myanmar, prompting questions on social media about what is being done to tackle the problem and help the victims.

Dozens of other posts have appeared on Chinese social media from people saying that friends and family members had disappeared in similar circumstances, and Wang said he was held in a building with dozens of other people. So far there has been no official word that they have been rescued.

Southeast Asia has become a major breeding ground for international criminal networks, including telecoms fraud gangs preying on Chinese citizens, because of lax border controls and law enforcement as well as their physical closeness to China.

Many of the gangs relocated from China after law enforcement started cracking down on their activities, and a key technique used by the scammers is targeting people with fake job offers, often promising much higher salaries than they could get at home.

The faltering Chinese economy, and associated problems such as low-paid, insecure jobs in the gig economy and rising personal debt — have increased the pool of potential victims.

A family member of one of these victims has posted a list of cases online, inviting other families to provide details of those who have fallen into the hands of the gangs. So far it has listed around 2,000 cases, most of whom were men under 30, with the youngest being just 15.

Myanmar is a key location, partly because of its shared border and partly because of the ongoing conflict between the military junta and armed rebel groups — some of them ethnic Chinese — that have allowed gangs to operate with relative impunity.

There is also a well-established trafficking network taking people from less developed areas of southwest China, including parts of Yunnan and Guangxi, through the mountains of Vietnam and Laos as well areas such as the Golden Triangle, a notorious hub for opium and organized crime.

Mae Sot, the Thai border town where Wang was smuggled into Myanmar, is another key trafficking hub.

China's shared borders and the role of ethnic Chinese crime syndicates makes the country a key player in tackling the problem.

Beijing has been involved in a difficult balancing act, trying to maintain relations with both the military government and ethnic minority rebel groups, including one that consists largely of ethnic Chinese fighters in the border province of Kokang.

China has also been actively mediating between the junta and rebel groups to maintain stability on its border and secure a ceasefire.

Beijing has recently pledged to work with neighboring countries to eradicate cyber fraud and related crimes such as human trafficking and online gambling and has conducted a number of major operations in recent years.

In 2023 it started working with local law enforcement across Southeast Asia to carry out joint operations targeting the gangs.

Meanwhile, China has also been working with Myanmar's military rulers to get them to withdraw their support from some of the main crime families operating in border regions such as Kokang, arresting many key figures and extraditing them to China.

They included Ming Xuechang — who ran the notorious Crouching Tiger Villa, a large telecoms scam compound in Kokang and died in custody, reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot, in November 2023 — and the heads of three other crime families who were extradited in January last year.

Late last year Beijing declared that the main telecoms fraud hubs operating near the China-Myanmar border had been eradicated and more than 53,000 suspects detained.

But many of the scammers have simply relocated to Myawaddy, where Wang was held, prompting fresh pledges of action last week by China, Myanmar and Thailand.

Read the full story at SCMP.