By Poppy McPherson and Artorn Pookasook
CHONG CHOM, Thailand/ODDAR MEANCHEY, Cambodia, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The Thai military said on Monday it had recovered a trove of evidence of transnational fraud from a Cambodian scam compound seized during clashes last year between the two countries along their disputed border.
Briefing reporters and foreign delegates in Surin province, senior Thai military officials said the O’Smach complex had housed thousands of people, many of them victims of human trafficking who were forced to scam strangers or face punishment.
Soldiers later showed reporters around one of several buildings in the complex that were bombed and occupied by the Thai military late last year. The six‑storey building was strewn with documents, including long lists of what appeared to be potential targets and their contact details, as well as scripts for scam dialogues.
CEASEFIRE ENDED BORDER CLASHES IN DECEMBER
O’Smach has previously been named as a base for scam operations including by the United States, which cited trafficking and forced criminality.
“The reason we are showing this place today is that we want the world to see how it’s being used as a criminal base against humanity,” Lieutenant General Teeranan Nandhakwang, director‑general of the Royal Thai Army’s Directorate of Intelligence, told reporters.
Touch Sokhak, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s interior ministry, told Reuters Thailand had used scam centres as a pretext for military attacks. He said Cambodia was carrying out a crackdown on scams and had pledged to eradicate the illicit industry before April.
Thailand and Cambodia ended weeks of fierce border clashes in late December with a ceasefire — the second in recent months — that halted the worst fighting in years between the Southeast Asian neighbours.
During the clashes the Thai military struck several casino complexes it alleged were scam compounds, saying they were also used to store weapons and launch attacks.
FAKE POLICE OFFICES
Parts of Southeast Asia, including border areas between Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, have become hubs for online fraud in recent years, generating billions of dollars annually.
Among the items seized at O’Smach were 871 SIM cards enabling anonymous international communication, dozens of smartphones, counterfeit police insignia and police uniforms, the Thai military said.
Reporters visiting the complex also saw several rooms set up to resemble police offices from different countries, including Brazil, China and Australia.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
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