By Manny Pham
Myanmar authorities handed over thousands of telecom fraud suspects to China, after a crackdown on rising scam operations between both countries.
Myanmar and China have been working since September to catch fraudsters who have taken large sums of money from Chinese citizens and “the crackdown has achieved significant battle results,” said the Ministry of Public Security in a statement, reported Reuters.
Among the 31,000 captured suspects are 63 “financiers” and ring leaders of crime syndicates.
Over 100,000 people engage in telecom fraud daily stemming from scam centres based in Myanmar, Chinese media reported.
A ringleader of a scam gang committed suicide last week while on the run from authorities during the crackdown, with three people arrested.
China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong visited Myanmar this month and said China is ready to deepen its relationship with Myanmar to tackle cross-border crime.
