China brings back 3,000 suspects from Myanmar cyber scam hub after ‘no safe havens’ vow

More than 2,250 Chinese held in Myanmar’s Myawaddy region escorted back by police in latest such transfer, China’s Ministry of Public Security says

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People from China, Vietnam and Ethiopia, believed to have been trafficked and forced to work in scam centres, are held in detention after being released from the scam hubs in Myawaddy, in southeastern Myanmar on February 26. Photo: AP

Published: 9:00pm, 15 Mar 2025

China has repatriated nearly 3,000 telecoms fraud suspects from Myanmar since launching a joint crackdown with Myanmar and Thailand earlier this year, according to the top Chinese police authority.

The latest transfer saw 2,255 Chinese nationals held in Myanmar’s Myawaddy region escorted back under police supervision, bringing the total to 2,876, China’s Ministry of Public Security said on Friday.

Myawaddy in southeastern Myanmar along the Thai border has become a notorious hub for large-scale scams, particularly online fraud. Scam gangs have also been using Thailand as a trafficking route, with the Thai border town of Mae Sot across the Moei River from Myawaddy becoming a key trafficking point for victims to be taken to scam farms in Myanmar.

Myanmar sent the suspects to Thailand from where Chinese police escorted them back on chartered flights to the eastern cities of Nanjing and Shanghai, the ministry statement said.

A first batch of 200 suspects was similarly sent back on February 20.

In a report on Friday, China’s Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily said the return of the 2,876 suspects would serve as “a strong deterrent against foreign criminal groups” targeting Chinese.