These operations not only involve gambling.
Most of the casinos are built by Chinese investors and located in special administrative zones bordering China. The latest case is just one of many involving Thais and foreigners crossing the border to work for call centre gangs and casinos in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Amid intensified clashes between Myanmar troops and ethnic rebel groups, they are now trapped. Some of them went voluntarily to Myanmar to work for call centre gangs and casinos, while others were duped by human traffickers into working there. The Thai government is currently figuring out how to get them back safely. The plight of the 160-plus Thais who were duped to work in call centres and casinos in Myanmar's Shan state reminds us of the alarming reality that Thailand is becoming a major transit route for human trafficking and money laundering for casino businesses and online scams in the lower Mekong region.Ĭurrently, 164 Thais are stranded at a safe shelter in Kokang - a special administrative zone in Shan state in northern Myanmar. Police officers examine a baccarat table at an illegal gambling venue in Wang Thonglang district, Bangkok on June 20, 2014.
