ミャンマーのオンライン詐欺拠点から外国人３９人逃走、タイに越境

【バンコクＡＦＰ＝時事】タイの警察は２５日、ミャンマーのオンライン詐欺センターから逃走した外国人３９人が越境してタイに入国したとＡＦＰに明らかにした。人身売買の被害者の可能性があり、タイ当局が身元確認を行っている。（写真はタイのターク県メソト市から見たミャンマーのミャワディ）
　ミャンマーの国境地帯では詐欺拠点が急増しており、人身売買された外国人が強制的に働かされていることが多い。
　タイのターク県メソト市の警察署長によると、同県に到着した一行には、スリランカ人３２人、ネパール人５人、マレーシア人とロシア人各１人が含まれていた。ＡＦＰでは４か国の大使館にコメントを求めている。
　ＡＦＰの取材に応じた軍関係者によると、グループは国境を越えたミャンマー側のミャワディから逃れてきた。ミャワディは軍と連携する民兵が支配しており、麻薬生産やオンライン詐欺の温床となっているとの指摘がある。
　タイのメディアはこのグループについて、ＳＮＳに掲載されていた高給を約束する求人広告に応じたが、その後、詐欺センターで過酷な労働条件に置かれたと報じている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/11/25-18:11）

Thirty nine foreigners have fled an online scam centre in Myanmar across the border to Thailand, where officials are working to identify potential trafficking victims, police told AFP on Monday.
Scam compounds have mushroomed in Myanmar's borderlands and are staffed by foreigners who are often trafficked and forced to work, swindling their compatriots in an industry analysts say is worth billions.
The group from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia and Russia crossed into Thailand's Tak province, according to the police chief in the city of Mae Sot.
They had fled from Myawaddy just across the border, Colonel Pittayakorn Petcharat told AFP.
Myawaddy is controlled by a military-aligned militia and is a hotbed of drug production and online scam outfits, according to observers.
Sri Lanka's embassy in Bangkok had asked Thai authorities for help after it was informed that 32 of its citizens were trapped in Myanmar, said Petcharat.
Five Nepalis, one Malaysian and one Russian were also in the group that escaped and arrived in Thailand.
AFP has contacted the embassies of the four countries for comment.
The group crossed into Thailand on Sunday night, said a member of the security forces in Mae Sot, who asked for anonymity to talk to the media.
Immigration officials were working to identify potential victims of human trafficking, Petcharat said.
Thai local media reported the group had responded to adverts on social media promising well-paid work but were then subjected to gruelling conditions in a scam centre.
Some of the Sri Lankan workers later successfully contacted the embassy.
Myanmar's northern border with China was previously a hotbed for online scam centres, often run by militias aligned with the ruling junta.
But a sweeping offensive by an alliance of ethnic rebels last year cleared many of the scam centres out.
More than 40,000 people suspected of taking part in cyber scams in Myanmar were handed over to China in 2023, Beijing state media said this year.
Local Myanmar media have reported that scam bosses who escaped the offensive have since set up shop further south along the border with Thailand.
Last December Myanmar junta chief and Thai military officials agreed to jointly eradicate online gambling and online scams near Myawaddy, according to Myanmar state media.