News Desk
BANGKOK — In a sweeping move against transnational crime, Thai authorities on yesterday severed power supplies to key areas in Myanmar that have become hubs for sophisticated online scam operations run by Chinese underworld syndicates.
The affected towns, including Myawaddy and Tachilek, sit along Myanmar’s porous border with Thailand, serving as lawless enclaves where criminal networks operate with impunity. These syndicates—linked to China’s organized crime world—have orchestrated a surge of online fraud, including romance scams, cryptocurrency cons, and illicit gambling platforms, defrauding victims across the globe of tens of billions of dollars.
The operations rely on a shadow workforce of trafficked laborers—many lured with false job promises and then held in brutal captivity, forced to swindle under threats of violence. The Thai government, facing mounting public anger, moved decisively, cutting off electricity, internet, and gas supplies to five key border towns.
“Enough is enough,” declared Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, as he oversaw the blackout from Bangkok. Officials said Thailand had been supplying 600 million baht ($17.8 million) worth of electricity annually to these areas—resources now seen as fueling the very criminal operations that have inflicted an estimated 80 million baht ($2.3 million) in daily financial losses on Thailand alone.
With Beijing long accused of turning a blind eye to the sprawling criminal enterprises run by its own nationals, Thailand’s crackdown signals a rare and forceful stand against a deep-rooted and lucrative underworld.
