Thai police say Chinese actor trafficked to Myanmar to work in scam operation – FBC News

A Chinese actor who went missing after traveling to Thailand and was found near the Myanmar border in an area where online fraud networks operate was a victim of human trafficking, Thai police said Wednesday.

Chinese state-run newspaper The Global Times reported on Monday that Wang Xing’s family had asked the Chinese Embassy in Thailand for help after the actor went missing at the Thai-Myanmar border.

Authorities found Wang in Myanmar on Tuesday and brought him to Thailand for questioning, Thai police said.

Photos and videos showed Wang standing with police in the Thai border town of Mae Sot with his head shaved.

Wang told police he was lured by the promise of a casting job by a large Thai entertainment company, but was taken across the border to Myanmar, where police believe he was put to work in a sting operation. scam calls targeting the Chinese, said Senior Inspector General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot.

The area is known as a haven for crime syndicates that have forced hundreds of thousands of Southeast Asians to participate in online scams, including fake romance tricks, fake investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.

Many of the victims are trapped in virtual slavery.

There are also allegations of drug trafficking.

An initial examination of chat logs on Wang’s phone confirmed his story, Thatchai told Thai PBS TV.

He said Wang told police there were about 50 other Chinese at the same location. Like him, they all had shaved heads, he told police. He said he was too scared to resist or try to escape.

Criminal activity has flourished in the border areas of military-ruled Myanmar, where fighting has pitted armed ethnic groups against the military for decades. Chinese authorities have said they have cracked down on crime syndicates in joint operations with neighboring countries that have resulted in the return of thousands of people to China, but these campaigns have not included the arrest of ringleaders in Myanmar.

Chinese investors operate casino complexes in what are termed autonomous development zones in cooperation with the Myanmar Border Guard Force, a militia belonging to the ethnic Karen minority.

Wang’s disappearance gained attention after a netizen claiming to be his girlfriend posted about it on Chinese social media, according to The Global Times. Wang has appeared in popular Chinese TV dramas.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Tuesday that the government was doing its best to mitigate any impact the case would have on Thailand’s reputation as a safe tourist destination.