Local authorities will begin receiving members of Chinese call centre scam networks for legal charges in China on Thursday, according to the governor of Tak province.
Chucheep Pongchai provided an update on Wednesday on preparations to assist foreign nationals recently rescued from a call centre scam operation in Myawaddy in Myanmar's Karen state.
He said Beijing has confirmed it will begin repatriating Chinese victims from Thursday till Saturday.
That process will follow the same route previously used for repatriation.
As per protocol, Chinese officials will screen and classify the Chinese individuals as either victims or perpetrators and handle the entire process on the Myanmar side by themselves.
Once screened, the Chinese nationals will be taken across the Second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge and proceed directly to Mae Sot Airport, where they will immediately board flights to China.
They will not undergo Thailand's national referral mechanism (NRM) screening but only the biometric verification process, which will take about 2 to 5 minutes per person, Mr Chucheep said.
Currently, of the 260 individuals from 20 countries who were previously rescued from call centre scam operations in Myanmar, 258 have been identified as human trafficking victims. Two Taiwanese nationals were not identified as victims.
Various embassies have been coordinating to repatriate their citizens, with 25 people already sent back to their home countries, the governor added.
He said the 31st Military Circle is ready to accommodate up to 500 victims per day. Authorities have prepared personnel to assist and facilitate the victims.
According to a source, the repatriation of call scam survivors in Myanmar will be carried out through collaborative efforts by the Tak provincial office, the Provincial Social Development and Human Security Office, immigration police, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the National Security Office serving as the primary agency in dealing with online scams.
The process of repatriating all the survivors will take several weeks, said the source.
The source said Thailand is in talks with international organisations for financial assistance in case it has to fund the NRM process.
Col Natthakorn Rueantip, commander of the Ratchamanoo Special Task Force based in Mae Sot, said since the government cut electricity and internet access to the border area in Myanmar on Feb 5, some 17 attempts to smuggle fuel across the border at Mae Sot, Phop Phra, Mae Ramat and Tha Song Yang districts have been intercepted.
