Bangkok Post – Thai and Chinese officials team up to fight scams

Discussions in Kunming focus on ways to combat transnational crime

KUNMING, China – Thai police are teaming up with their Chinese counterparts to combat human trafficking and call center scams in China.

Major General Sarut Kwaengsopha, head of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD), provided an update on cooperation during a visit to Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, on Saturday. There, he met Major General Kong Yiping, deputy head of the Kunming Immigration Bureau, and observed the work of the immigration police.

The technology has reduced the workload by about 80 percent, Pol Maj. Gen. Sarut said.

Lieutenant General Jirabhop Bhuridej, commissioner of the Central Bureau of Investigation, has ordered the country's law enforcement agencies to crack down more vigorously on call center scams.

He also ordered the ATPD to discuss the challenges posed by human trafficking in northern Myanmar with state agencies. The neighboring country serves as a base for some call center gangs that cause problems for both Thailand and China, he said.

Pol Maj Gen Sarut met Pol Col Thatchaphong Sarawanangkun, Thai Consul General in Kunming, to discuss the issue of human trafficking.

China does not have a specific law on human trafficking, Maj. Gen. Sarut said. However, the Thai consulate in Kunming monitors the activities of fraudulent gangs. He also tracked 27 human trafficking suspects who fled Thailand to China, he said.

Chinese authorities also agreed to cooperate in combating prostitution and child labor, Major General Pol Sarut added. Several Thai teenagers have reportedly been found working illegally in Kunming, worrying officials in both countries.

“The exploitation of young Thai girls is a concern because older Chinese tend to hire them for marriage and then abandon them,” he said. “We must therefore urgently tackle this problem and stop the criminals. »

Major General Sarut also met with You Xiaowen, acting secretary general of the Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center, and Jiang Shui, deputy director general of the center.

The meeting highlighted cooperation between China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand in combating transnational crime in the Mekong region.

The LMLECC has built a vast online database that member countries can use to access records on drug trafficking, call center fraud gangs, arms smuggling and human trafficking.

Jiang said the center has also strengthened joint patrols along the borders and improved security measures with modern equipment.