With 600 Chinese being released in the next three days, thousands of foreigners are expected to be freed and repatriated from scam compounds in Myanmar in the coming weeks.
The compounds run by criminal gangs are staffed by foreigners, many of whom claim to have been trafficked and forced to work running internet scams that defraud people all over the world. Beijing has increased pressure on Thailand and Myanmar to close the centers, and many of the participants are Chinese.
On the morning of February 20, two double-decker coaches brought the first group of returning workers to the border post in the town of Mae Sot in western Thailand.
After being inspected by a clipboard-wielding official, dozens of people, apparently all men, climbed the stairs and boarded a special China Southern Airlines aircraft straight from the buses.
