Thailand cuts power supplies to Myanmar border towns in effort to curb scam rings

BANGKOK — Thailand on Wednesday cut off power supplies to areas in Myanmar where scam networks operate, following a public outcry demanding government action to tackle the problem.

Parts of Myanmar bordering Thailand, including Myawaddy and Tachilek, are known as havens for criminal syndicates who have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia and elsewhere into helping run online scams including false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.

Such scams have stolen tens of billions of dollars from victims around the world, while the people recruited to carry them out are often tricked into taking the jobs under false pretense and trapped in virtual slavery.

Thailand's National Security Council and other government agencies met on Tuesday and agreed to cut off electricity, internet and gas supplies to five towns in Myanmar along the border with northern Thailand, citing national security and severe damage that the country has suffered from scam operations.

Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who oversaw the process at the Bangkok headquarters of the Provincial Electricity Authority, said the annual revenue from the electricity sold in these areas was about 600 million baht ($17.8 million). Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said Tuesday that scams have caused an estimated damage of 80 million baht ($2.3 million) to Thailand a day.

Anutin, who also serves as a deputy prime minister, said a clause in the supply contract allows Thailand to cut off the supply on the grounds of national security. ''Today, the government said we must stop, because you supply our electricity to those who cause damage to our country,'' he said.

Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos have became known as the major centers of online scam operations, while Thailand has recently received attention as an area of transit for victims of false recruitment for scams.

Public scrutiny heightened recently when a senior Chinese offiical visited Thailand last week to discuss cooperation in cracking down on scam operations, many of which are believed to be run by Chinese nationals. The Royal Thai Police said the meeting with Liu Zhongyi, China's Vice Minister of Public Security and Commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, addressed rescue missions, law enforcement and cutting off utilities to the areas where scam networks operated.

Liu's visit came shortly after the disappearance of a Chinese actor in Thailand, who was later found near the border of Myanmar, made global headlines. Thai police said he was trafficked to work in a scam operation.

Beijing has also put pressure on Myanmar's military government to curb the scam centers, but they are often in areas under the control of ethnic rebel groups where laws are not enforced.

Last month, Thailand's Cabinet approved a new law aiming to tackle scam problems, which is expected to take effect some time this month. The law says banks and telecoms providers would share liability for the victims' losses. It also provides for victims to be compensated without waiting for court orders.

In 2023, power supplies from Thailand to Shwe Kokko and Lay Kay Kaw in Myawaddy township in Myanmar's Kayin state were briefly cut after a contract with the Myanmar government expired. However, locals in Mae Sot, a Thai town across the border from Myawaddy, said business in the affected towns seemed to be carrying on with no disruption.