Nearly 700 people, including Pakistanis, flee to Thailand from Myanmar

BANGKOK: Nearly 700 foreigners have fled Myanmar and crossed into Thailand, the Thai army said on Thursday, following a military operation against the KK Park, a notorious cybercrime compound.

Thailand has detained 677 people, including 618 men and 59 women, after they crossed the border into Tak province, it said in a statement.

Myanmar’s military has taken control of KK Park and is inspecting the area, driving a large number of people into Thailand, the statement said.

The people are now undergoing legal procedures and screening, and Thai authorities have also made additional detention facilities available in case existing spaces become insufficient, the army said.

“All actions are in line with legal and humanitarian principles,” it said, adding that it was working closely with local security agencies to maintain order along the Thai-Myanmar border.

The group consists primarily of individuals from India and China, with smaller numbers from Vietnam, Pakistan, Indonesia and several other countries, the army said.

Myanmar’s KK Park is a notorious enclave known to international law enforcement and diplomats for its involvement in cyber scams.

KK Park’s sprawling compound and others nearby are run primarily by Chinese criminal gangs and guarded by local militia groups aligned to Myanmar’s military.

Border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have become hubs for online fraud since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the United Nations says billions of dollars have been earned from the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of people forced to work in scam compounds.