An airlift carrying more than 1,000 Chinese nationals who had worked at online scam centers in eastern Myanmar began Thursday, after the rescued workers were taken across the border to Thailand and put on chartered flights to China.

A group of 200 Chinese nationals plucked from scam centres in Myanmar crossed into Thailand and were flown home on Thursday, as part of a multinational effort to repatriate hundreds caught up in massive internet fraud schemes,

China expressed appreciation on Friday for the strong steps taken by Thailand and Myanmar to dismantle scam gangs and protect the life and property of citizens from China and other countries, while pledging to safeguard the safety and well-being of its overseas citizens.

A crackdown on Myanmar’s scam hubs has freed 10,000 workers, but concerns remain over the sustainability of the efforts against powerful crime syndicates.

China will fly home about 200 of its nationals found in scam-running compounds on the Thai-Myanmar border, a Thai security official said on Tuesday, as part of a multinational effort to crack down on illegal online operations run from the region.

BANGKOK: Leaders from Thailand, China and Myanmar were at hand on Thursday (Feb 20) to oversee the repatriation of Chinese nationals following the crackdown on call-centre scam syndicates.

Thailand is preparing to step up the repatriation of people coming from the scam centres operating across the border with Myanmar. A high ranking Chinese official met with Thailand's deputy prime minister and defence minister on Feb 19,

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Thursday that China is actively carrying out bilateral and multilateral cooperation with countries including Thailand and Myanmar to eradicate the scourge of online gambling and telecom fraud.