Taiwanese freed from Myanmar scam rings now in Thailand: CIB

Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) Taiwan police confirmed Thursday that Taiwanese citizens were among the hundreds of people who had allegedly been working in Myanmar-based telecom fraud centers and were released by a Myanmar rebel group and brought to Thailand a day earlier.

In a press statement, the National Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said that the Thai police authorities had informed its liaison officer in Thailand that Taiwanese nationals were among those released.

The CIB said the Thai authorities are currently in the process of identifying the nationalities of those released.

After investigations into whether the individuals were victims of cross-border human trafficking, they will be repatriated to their home countries, the CIB said, without elaborating on the details.

The CIB did not state how many of those set to be released are Taiwanese.

According to an English language press statement issued by Thailand's military, the 260 foreigners released Wednesday were from 20 countries, including seven from Taiwan.

The individuals were handed over to authorities in northwestern Thailand by a Myanmar insurgent group, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), the statement said.

The release was made a week after Thailand cut power and fuel supplies to five locations near the Thai-Myanmar border to crack down on phone scams and human trafficking operations, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

A report by the Bangkok-based English-language daily, the Nation, said the victims were rescued from KK Park, a hub for fraud operations in Myawaddy, Myanmar, and along the border.

Over the past years, Taiwan's government has warned nationals visiting Southeast Asia to be on high alert amid frequent reports of people being forced into working for telecom fraud rings.

As of Jan. 10, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said the government had helped repatriate 1,533 Taiwanese nationals. Many were lured to Southeast Asia over the promise of high-paid work, only to be forced to work for the fraud rings.

There were still 500 Taiwanese people in Southeast Asia engaged in such work, according to MOFA estimates at the time.