Col Saw Chit Thu, leader of the Myanmar junta-allied Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), has pledged to cooperate with the Thai government to crack down on call-centre scam gangs in Myanmar near the Thai border.
Karen Border Guard Force officers raid the Yatai Project in Shwe Kokko, Myawaddy, Karen State, to verify call centre scam gang victims. (Photo: TAK 24 hours Facebook page)
In a statement addressing Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, Col Saw Chit Thu said the BGF will arrest call scammers and human traffickers operating in areas controlled by it in Myanmar.
He also promised to facilitate the repatriation of victims of trafficking.
From today, the BGF will transport a large number of foreign victims from Myawaddy across the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to the Thai side of the border in Tak's Mae Sot district, he said.
"The move is intended to support joint efforts between Thailand and Myanmar to tackle transnational crime syndicates and ensure trafficked victims are returned to their home countries safely.
"We would like the Thai government to give us advice and assistance when necessary," Col Saw Chit Thu said in the statement.
A border source said the BGF has announced it will deport more than 8,000 people, mostly Chinese nationals, who work for call centre gangs back to their countries as part of efforts to tackle criminals along the border.
Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, director of the Royal Thai Police's Anti-Human Trafficking Centre and Police Cyber Taskforce, said on Friday that Beijing had provided Thailand with a list of more than 3,700 Chinese suspects involved in call-scam and trafficking gangs in Myanmar.
Mr Phumtham, who also serves as a deputy prime minister, said on Friday he had already seen the statement and thanked Col Saw Chit Thu for showing willingness to work together to stamp out criminal activity along the border.
He said the government's ultimate goal is to root out all call scammers operating along the Thai-Myanmar border and send the victims home.
However, on Tuesday, Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong said the Department of Special Investigation was seeking an arrest warrant for Col Saw Chit Thu and two other BGF leaders for human trafficking.
When quizzed on this, Mr Phumtham merely said the law should be allowed to take its course.
They are accused of involvement in the trafficking of Indian nationals who were forced to work in the call centre gangs.
Col Saw Chit Thu told BBC Burmese that his armed group have done "a lot" to combat human trafficking and helped rescue and return many victims.
The rights group Justice for Myanmar exposed the BGF's involvement in Chinese-run online scams, illegal casinos, and online gambling operations in Myawaddy in May last year, reported The Irrawaddy.
The UK imposed sanctions against Col Saw Chit Thu in December 2023 over allegations of human trafficking, forced labour, and human rights violations, as did the EU, which also sanctioned Lt Col Mote Thone and Maj Tin Win.
Khit Thit Media, a Myanmar news agency, reported that the BGF on Friday raided several locations suspected to be linked with scammers and human traffickers in Shwe Kokko, opposite Mae Sot.
Those locations include hotels, bars, and restaurants, as the BGF pledged to send employees who were lured or forced by traffickers and scammers to work there back to their countries.
