Myanmar hands over to China thousands of telecom fraud suspects

BEIJING - The Myanmar authorities have handed over 31,000 telecom fraud suspects to China since law enforcement officers from both countries launched a crackdown on online scams in September, the Chinese authorities said on Nov 21.

The suspects included 63 “financiers” and ringleaders of crime syndicates that have cheated Chinese citizens of large sums of money, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

"The crackdown has achieved significant battle results," the ministry said.

More than 100,000 people engage in telecom fraud each day in at least 1,000 scam centres in Myanmar, which shares a border with south-west China, Chinese state media has reported.

Chinese police started to crack down on the fraud in September.

In November, police launched what they said were “swift attacks” on crime gangs in Myanmar.

The Myanmar ringleader of a gang committed suicide last week while on the run from the Myanmar authorities, Chinese police said. Three members of his gang were later handed over to Chinese police.

With telecom scams in Myanmar targeting Chinese citizens surging, Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong visited Myanmar in November.

He said China was ready to work with Myanmar on tackling cross-border crime, including online gambling.

Mr Nong also said China supported Myanmar in maintaining stability on their common border as Myanmar's junta battled insurgents in the area.

Myanmar’s ruling military is facing attacks on multiple fronts

in its borderlands as an alliance of ethnic minority insurgent groups combines with pro-democracy fighters to challenge the junta, which took power in a coup in February 2021.

China has called for peace.

“China has been playing a constructive role in its own way to promote peace talks and urge relevant parties to put the interests of the people first, cease fire and end war as soon as possible,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Nov 20. REUTERS