Nearly 8,000 repatriated after one month of Myawaddy crackdown: BGF

A total of 7,968 foreign nationals have been repatriated to their home countries in the past 30 days since the launch of a crackdown on human traffickers and illegal businesses in Shwe Kokko New City, the Border Guard Force (BGF) in Karen state announced on Friday.

The well-known casino town is located in Myawaddy township on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

BGF spokesman Lt-Col Naing Maung Zaw said that the repatriated foreigners, most of them male, came from over 30 countries. After screening and investigation, it was found that 98% of them intentionally came to work in Shwe Kokko and were not tricked by human traffickers.

He added that most of the foreigners hold visas issued by Thailand and crossed the border via natural channels.

The largest group of foreigners under detention is Chinese nationals, followed by Vietnamese and Indonesians, he said.

The spokesman told Nation TV that over the past month, the BGF used its own budget of over 70 million baht and over 10,000 personnel to take care of the foreigners brought out from Shwe Kokko to a temporary shelter it constructed in the inner part of Myawaddy.

He said that there were still over 3,000 foreigners in the camp and that the BGF would push for the repatriation as soon as possible, as it was not equipped to take care of them for the long-term.

A Nation TV reporter on Friday visited a BGF detention centre at Aung Zabu Linn Hotel and found the area heavily guarded with soldiers, while detainees live in a crowded space on the hotel’s ground floor.

A soldier reportedly said that each detainee will receive three meals a day, including specialised meals during the Ramadan (Muslim fasting month). The BGF has reportedly set a meal budget at 200 baht per person per day.

The BGF’s move came after Thailand cut off electricity, internet and fuel supplies to five border areas in Myanmar on February 5 to combat call-centre fraud. Areas affected by the shut-off include Myawaddy, Tachileik, and Phaya Thonsu townships.