Thailand Contemplates Border Wall to Combat Cross-Border Scams

Thailand is considering constructing a border wall with Cambodia to combat illegal crossings and dismantle illicit scam centres. These centres have been exploiting people in Southeast Asia, with the UN noting the trafficking of hundreds of thousands. Thai police recently returned 119 nationals from a Cambodian scam site.

Thailand is contemplating the construction of a wall along part of its border with Cambodia to combat illegal crossings and disrupt illicit scam centres, the government announced on Monday. This development comes as international efforts intensify to dismantle a pervasive network of fraud operations extending across Southeast Asia.

According to the United Nations, these scam centres are predominantly on Thailand's borders with Myanmar and Cambodia and have facilitated the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of individuals by criminal gangs. Over the weekend, Thai authorities successfully repatriated 119 nationals after a raid by Cambodian police in Poipet rescued more than 215 people from one such operation.

The proposed wall could stretch 55 km in Sa Kaeo province, a vulnerable crossing currently secured only by razor wire. Scam operations have long plagued the region, ensnaring victims as distant as West Africa. In January, the rescue of a Chinese actor from a Myanmar scam centre accentuated the need for action. However, concerns about the repatriation of other foreigners, including an estimated 300,000 from Myanmar's Myawaddy, persist amid calls for a more robust crackdown.

(With inputs from agencies.)