Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post
Police in Thailand’s Tak province have uncovered a sprawling illegal Internet and telephone cable network believed to fuel cross-border call centre scams in Myanmar. The operation, hailed as the largest bust of its kind, has exposed the scale of high-tech fraud haunting the region.
In a joint announcement yesterday, December 2, Police General Nathathorn Prousoontorn of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and Police Lieutenant General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, director of Thailand’s Action Taskforce for Information Technology Crime Suppression (Tactics), detailed the massive discovery.
Officials found 16 high-capacity fibre-optic cables running deep into Myanmar, terminating in a bustling economic zone notorious for harbouring scam operations, said Pol. Gen. Nathathorn.
“This crackdown is part of an ongoing effort to eliminate unauthorised cable installations along the Thai-Myanmar border.”
The illegal network violated Section 67 of Thailand’s Telecommunications Business Operation Act, which carries severe penalties: up to five years in prison or fines as high as 10 million baht.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Thatchai underscored the collaboration between law enforcement and the NBTC to dismantle such operations.
“We’ve also seized over 101,000 Thai-registered SIM cards, SIM boxes, and related devices linked to these scams.”
Experts suspect the cables were the backbone of a system providing scammers with robust Internet connectivity, allowing them to deceive victims across the region. The high-capacity lines’ strategic placement in a cross-border economic hub added to suspicions, reported Bangkok Post.
In September, a joint task force in Tak apprehended a resourceful individual who was using a water rocket launcher to extend Internet cables across the border into Myanmar for Chinese clients. The suspect admitted that was hired by Thai individuals from across the border.
A joint task force comprising the 431st Infantry Company, local administrative officers from Mae Sot district, police from Mae Sot Police Station, and several other units conducted a patrol along the Moei River in Ban Mae Kuet Mai, Mae Kasa subdistrict, Mae Sot district, Tak province.
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