Photo/Illutration Shwe Kokko in eastern Myanmar is believed to be a hub for special fraud and other crimes. The photo was taken on May 9, 2024, from the Thai side of the border. (Shin Kasahara)

Thailand will suspend electricity supply to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb scam centers, its government said on Tuesday, amid growing pressure on the illegal compounds that have ensnared vast numbers of people of multiple nationalities. According to the United Nations, hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centers and illegal online operations across Southeast Asia, including along the Thai-Myanmar border. A 2023 U.N. report estimated the fast-growing operations generate billions of dollars annually.

“We must take action to cut off the electricity immediately,” Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters, adding authorities would instruct the Provincial Electricity Authority that supplies power to these areas to cut it off. The scam compounds have come into renewed focus after Chinese actor Wang Xing was abducted after arriving in Thailand last month. He was later freed by Thai police who found him in Myanmar.

Thailand has been concerned about the impact on its vital tourism sector and has sought to allay safety concerns of visitors from China, a key source market.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said talks would be held on Tuesday with the National Security Council on various measures to address the scam compounds, including stopping the power supply.

“What happened has had a huge impact on many Thai people and the image of the country,” she said.

Asked when power would be cut off, she said: “Today, if we talk and it’s clear, then we can do it today.”

The security council’s chief on Monday said evidence showed transnational crime syndicates operating in Myanmar’s Tachileik, Myawaddy, and Payathonzu - outlining areas that the power supply cuts may target.

Myanmar’s state-run Global New Light of Myanmar in a rare article on scam centers last month said basic essentials, including power and internet, are not provided by Myanmar but by other countries, in a veiled reference to Thailand.

It said “foreign organizations” were investing in this infrastructure.

Myanmar’s military government has since October 2023 repatriated more than 55,000 foreigners, overwhelmingly Chinese, who were forced to work in scam compounds to their home countries, the newspaper said.

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