The Thai government insisted on Monday its priority is to protect Thais from call-center gangs, and it will not be influenced by protests calling for a boycott of Thai goods following the cutting of power, fuel and internet services to the five border areas where these criminal networks are based.
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the protesters are free to express their frustration, but their rallies will not affect the government’s decision to disconnect electricity, fuel and the internet in the Tachileik, Myawaddy and Payathonzu border regions of Myanmar.
“They [the gangs] should think carefully because they depend on consumer goods from Thailand. Without that food, they would have to take care of themselves.
“We stand firm on these measures. Our focus is on the problem facing Thailand. This issue must be solved decisively,” Phumtham, who also serves as defense minister, said.
According to the minister, the number of protesters was limited, and the government is already taking action to secure the elimination of the scam centers in Myanmar to protect the Thai people.
However, there are reports that while the communities themselves have been left in the dark, entertainment venues and gangland scam centers have their own generators and remain open, lights on.
Thai authorities are also cracking down on the smuggling of fuel and solar panels to the border areas of Myanmar.
Phumtham said that he would visit Payathonzu on Wednesday and the Cambodian town of Poipet, where a Thai man recently fell to his death from a tall building occupied by the crooks, on Sunday to observe the situation before making any further decisions.
“Power, fuel and the internet could also be cut off to other border areas proven to be involved with the scammers,” said Phumtham.
National Telecom (NT) president Colonel Sanphachai Huvanandana said the company had cut international communication signals to the five border areas in Myanmar on Friday.
He said further action could still be ordered by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA).
Police Lieutenant General Yingyos Thepchamnong, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 2, said a crackdown is underway to dismantle cross-border call center gangs operating along the Thai-Cambodian border.
The operation follows an investigation that confirmed that gangs based in Poipet have been using Thai telephone and internet networks to carry out their scams.
He said the crackdown is a collaboration between the bureau and the NBTC launched in January this year to curb human smuggling, particularly those trafficking individuals to work for scams and open proxy bank accounts.
Yingyos said the crackdown targets SIM boxes, which are installed at multiple locations on the Cambodian side of the border. These devices are used by criminal networks to make calls via the internet and make them appear as though the calls are originating from within Thailand.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar military reportedly launched a series of raids from Wednesday to Friday of last week targeting illegal online gambling operations in Lashio, northern Shan State.
More than 80 people, including Vietnamese, Chinese and Myanmar nationals, were rounded up in the operation, which is part of broader efforts to combat cross-border criminal networks.
Authorities seized equipment and items from the locations, including 260 mobile phones, 120 computers, seven sets of Starlink Wi-Fi devices, power generators and numerous vehicles.
This story first appeared in the Bangkok Post.
