Thailand has cut electricity to Myanmar border towns harbouring scam centres tied to human trafficking and online fraud, Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday.
Aiming to disrupt criminal networks exploiting trafficked victims, Anutin Charnvirakul oversaw the shutdown of power supplies to alleged call centre scam hubs from Bangkok, initiated at 9am, Wednesday.
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has shut off power at two locations near Tha Sai Luad, Mae Sot District, Tak Province. It’s expected that more cuts will continue in the coming days. The move follows a UN report exposing the scale of the scam industry, which trafficks hundreds of thousands of people and generates billions in illicit revenue across Southeast Asia.
“We must move to cut off the power immediately,” Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters on Monday.
The issue gained heightened attention after Chinese actor Wang Xing was abducted upon arriving in Thailand last month and later rescued by Thai police in Myanmar. In a televised address to Thai media, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed concern over the incident’s impact on Thailand’s tourism sector and national image, noting that discussions with the National Security Council (NSC) would determine the timing of the power cuts, potentially as soon as this week.
Targeted areas include Myanmar’s Tachileik, Myawaddy, and Payathonzu border zones, known for transnational crime syndicate activities.
On January 31, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul sent an urgent letter to the secretary-general of the NSC seeking detailed information on security and public order in areas where Thailand supplies electricity to Myanmar.
The inquiry hoped to determine precise locations where electricity, provided by Thailand’s PEA, is being “misused for illegal activities,” the letter reads. Some of the crimes the Thai government has highlighted include drug trafficking, money laundering, call centre scams, and human trafficking.
Thai officials have publicly listed where they plan to cut power, naming five Myanmar border areas: Three Pagodas Pass in Karen State, serviced by Mya Pan Investment and Manufacturing Co. Ltd.; Ban Muang Daeng in Tachileik, Shan State, operated by Allure Group (P&E) Co. Ltd.; and the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Tachileik, also handled by Allure Group (P&E) Co. Ltd.
Additionally, electricity flows to Myanmar-linked areas near Mae Sai, Chiang Rai Province and Mae Sot, in Tak Province.
On Tuesday, prominent Thai Parliament member, Rangsiman Rome, took to X to request Elon Musk, the world-famous tech billionaire with close ties to the US government, to stop allowing his satellite internet services to operate along the specified Thai borders.
“We’ve been exposing scam centers in Southeast Asia and uncovered solid proof that cybercriminals in this region are exploiting Starlink for massive fraud—causing over $60 billion (USIP report, 2024) in global economic damage each year and involved in human trafficking as well,” Rangsiman said on X.
“This is a serious issue with real-world consequences. We have been pushing for immediate actions from our government to cut electricity and internet to the compounds, but they have begun to utilize Starlink to access the internet instead. Could you look into this matter?”
Despite the goal of cutting off supply to curb crime in the border regions, human rights groups are not convinced that completely severing electricity to these areas will do much to reduce crime. Instead, they say, it will have a negative impact on the civilians living in these areas.
“It may be a publicity stunt to please domestic demands and pressures from China, but cutting off electricity supply from Thailand is unlikely to paralyze scam centers and online criminal activities in Myanmar,” Sunai Phasuk, senior researcher on Thailand in Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, told Myanmar Now.
‘Living between two fires’
Shutting off power to these areas is not all positive, according to residents living near the border areas in Karen State. Aue Mon, the director of Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), a local human rights group operating along the Thai border in Karen and Mon states, said it’s a complicated situation.
“One of my part-time field members living in Three Pagodas Pass, on the Burmese side, mentioned that since these areas rely on Thai electricity, they anticipated this might happen someday,” Aue Mon said. “But that doesn’t make it any easier.”
Aue Mon said that one of their sources in Three Pagodas Pass described the situation as “living between two fires,” where locals suffer no matter what.
“With no electricity, communication networks will be severely disrupted, making an already difficult situation even harder for people in these towns. Those who can afford it are preparing by setting up generators, but for most, this will be a major hardship.”
Wahkushee Tenner, a Karen activist and director of the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) who works near the Thai-Myanmar border, shared similar thoughts.
“For large scam companies, the impact has been minimal so far, but it’s too early to tell,” she said. “They had already prepared generators before the cuts.”
“However, those renting out their properties have been affected. I know some people struggle, especially when trying to communicate with their children.” She added while some local businesses and landlords renting to Chinese tenants are affected, poor residents already struggle with high electricity costs.
“It’s unclear whether the electricity and signal cuts are a sincere effort to crack down on scam centers or just for show,” Wahkushee Tenner said. “We need to wait and see if this is a real attempt to shut them down.”
Thai officials say the country will lose 600 million baht from cutting electricity to certain Myanmar border areas, but authorities say it’s a price they’re willing to pay.
Still, Sunai said the move is unlikely to provide meaningful relief for civilians across the border in Myanmar, adding the syndicates have “spent years preparing for this scenario.” Daily life and critical services, including hospitals, could face major disruptions.
“Sadly, all sides in Thailand —including the opposition People’s Party— seem to believe that the consequential suffering of people in Myanmar is a fair price to pay.”
