India detains 197 citizens who worked in Myanmar’s cybercrime hub from Thailand

Continuing its activities to repatriate Indian nationals working in the cyber scam centers of Southern Myanmar, the Indian Air Force (IAF) evacuated 197 Indian nationals from Mae Sot, Thailand, on Monday (10 November 2025).

The Indian Embassy in Thailand said Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had come to Mae Sot to oversee the operation.

“Both sides reaffirmed their firm commitment to combating transnational crimes, including cyber scams and human trafficking in the region, and to strengthening cooperation between relevant agencies in both countries for this purpose,” the Indian Embassy said in a statement after Indian Ambassador to Thailand Nagesh Singh met Prime Minister Charnvirakul in Mae Sot.

On November 6, the IAF evacuated 270 nationals working in Myanmar’s Myawaddy who had entered Mae Sot following a crackdown by the Myanmar military on the illegal scam centers. The Myanmar military had begun its operation in Myawaddy in the second half of October, forcing workers at the multi-nationality scam centers to enter Thailand, where they were detained for entering without valid documents.

“The Embassy of India, Bangkok and the Consulate of India in Chiang Mai, in close collaboration with various agencies of the Royal Thai Government, have facilitated this repatriation. This is part of the Government of India’s ongoing efforts to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals while they are in distress abroad,” the Indian Embassy in Bangkok said in a statement.

Mr Charnvirakul had expressed his government’s determination to stop Myanmar’s cyber fraud hubs, which threaten Thailand’s economic prospects and target thousands of innocents around the world. The authorities here had told this before The Hindu that the Indian nationals being flown would not be allowed to go home without investigation and that they would be subjected to detailed interrogations to find out what kind of activities they were carrying out in Myawaddy’s cyber hubs.

On October 29, Mr Charnvirakul had announced that around 500 Indian nationals who had entered Thailand from Myanmar would be airlifted by the Indian government. These individuals were employed at the KK Cybercrime hub in Myawaddy, which is known to have defrauded thousands of innocent online victims around the world, including many in India.

The Indian Embassy in Bangkok further emphasized that Indian nationals should “verify the credentials of foreign employers and check the antecedents of recruitment agents before accepting job vacancies abroad” and reminded that visa-free entry for Indian passport holders is allowed only for “tourism and short-term business purposes” and is not intended for employment.