BANGKOK – Scam centres along the Thailand-Myanmar border are still operating with up to 100,000 people working there, the top police general leading Thailand’s operations against the fraud compounds reported.

Based on early assessments of some of the 5,000 people rescued from scam hubs in the Myawaddy area, hundreds went there voluntarily, said Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, an inspector-general with the Royal Thai Police.

He called for careful investigations among nationals of over a dozen countries to winnow out criminals.

Many people use Thailand as a pathway to sneak themselves into Myawaddy to find work, and this is not just the call centre gangs but also online gambling work and other professions, Pol Gen Thatchai said.

Thailand is fronting a regional effort to dismantle scam centres along its borders, which are part of a Southeast Asian network of illegal facilities that generate billions of dollars every year, often using people trafficked there by criminal gangs, according to the United Nations.

Since February, more than 5,200 people have been extricated from scamming facilities in and around Myawaddy, according to Thai police citing Myanmar authorities. Over 3,500 have been sent back to their home countries via Thailand, which has also cut off electricity, internet and fuel supplies to the area, the BangkokPost newspaper reported.