HYDERABAD: In a large-scale rescue operation, the Indian government is set to deploy a C-17 military aircraft on March 10-11 to repatriate 540 Indian citizens who were trapped in scam call centers in Myawaddy, Myanmar. These individuals, many of whom were lured by fraudulent job offers, have been stranded at the Thai-Myanmar border for weeks, waiting for help.
According to K. Madhukar Reddy a native of Rangapeta village in Karimnagar of Telangana, who is currently at the border, embassy officials and the Border Guard Force have confirmed that a special aircraft will be arranged on March 11 or 12 to evacuate the Indians. “We were told that we will be taken to Mae Sot Thailand after crossing the border tonight,” Reddy told The Times of India (TOI).
The operation will follow a process similar to the repatriation of Chinese nationals caught in similar scams. Upon crossing into Thailand via the Mae Sot-Myawaddy permanent border checkpoint, the Indian nationals will be denied entry into Thailand as per immigration procedures.
Thai authorities will then immediately transfer them to Indian officials at Mae Sot International Airport, where they will board two flights back home.
The stranded individuals hail from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and several other Indian states. Many have been detained for over two weeks, desperate to escape the conditions of the detention centers where they are being held.
“We just want to get out of these detention centers and return home,” one of the victims told TOI.
An Indian national currently in detention described the conditions, saying, “The accommodation is decent at Myawaddy detention . They have provided well-maintained AC rooms, but the food is inadequate—sometimes we get one meal a day, occasionally two.”
However, he added that conditions near immigration at the border were much worse. “There are over 500 people there, with no proper toilets or food. They are forced to stay in army camp-like tents. When we arrived, they took away everyone’s mobile phones.”
The Indian government has been actively coordinating with Myanmar and Thailand to secure the safe return of its citizens caught in international cybercrime syndicates, which have been operating in the region. The rescue mission is part of India’s broader efforts to crack down on fraudulent employment networks that exploit Indian workers abroad.
