Attachés tour border scam sites

Thai military gives foreign officials a view of the scale of cross-border cybercrime, write Post Reporters

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Military attachés from 20 countries were taken inside two border scam facilities on Monday, as Thailand sought to demonstrate to partners the scale of organised cybercrime operating out of Cambodia.

Lt Gen Teeranan Nandhakwang, director of Army Intelligence, led the delegation — which included attachés from the United States, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as FBI officials — first to the Chong Chom border crossing in Surin province.

The delegation travelled to observe security conditions and Thailand's crackdown on transnational crime, with a particular focus on scam networks operating across the frontier.

The visit follows clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border in December last year and was intended to provide foreign partners with a firsthand view of areas long suspected of hosting large-scale scam operations, said Lt Gen Teeranan.

The delegation crossed to survey locations opposite Chong Chom, facing O’Smach in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, an area identified by the Thai army as a major scam hub.

Accompanying the group were Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, deputy national police chief overseeing cybercrime suppression, and representatives from civil society, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) Thailand adviser Sunai Phasuk, who attended as an observer.

Investigators identified two main scam bases in O’Smach: O’Smach Resort and the Royal Hill complex, which are currently under Thai military control. The military attachés were taken to see both facilities.