As many as 15 Keralites who had fled to Thailand last month from Myanmar, where most of them were working in a cyber-fraud hub, have been repatriated here in the last three days.
The Keralites, along with a total of 578 Indians who were flown to New Delhi from Thailand the next day after being rescued from the KK Park cybercrime center in Myawaddy, Myanmar, arrived in the state in three batches on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
They were repatriated from the Thai border town of Mae Sot in two special flights operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF), according to a post on X by the Indian Embassy in Bangkok. According to NoRKA Roots, a nodal agency of the state government that works for the welfare of non-resident Keralites, these victims of illegal recruitment had to cross into Thailand after fleeing Myanmar and were detained for illegal entry before being repatriated to India. The repatriation was facilitated following the intervention of the Indian Embassy in Bangkok and the Indian Consulate in Chiang Mai with the support of the Thai government, NoRKA Roots said in a statement.
The returnees were forced to engage in cyber crime, gambling, money laundering, online love scams and investment scams at bogus call centers in the Myanmar-Thailand border area. The Myanmar military had earlier arrested about 2,200 people, including 445 women, after raiding the KK Park compound.
Published – 12 Nov 2025 20:21 IST
