Saw Chit Thu vows to eradicate Myawaddy call-centre gangs by month's end

Col Saw Chit Thu, Secretary-General of the Border Guard Force (BGF), held a press conference on Monday (February 17), at the BGF Command Centre.

He addressed the issue of call-centre gangs operating in Myanmar's gray zones, from the north of Myawaddy down to the south, and the returning of victims back to their home countries through Thailand. 

The press conference was attended by media representatives and senior BGF officers, with opportunities for the media to ask questions.

Saw Chit Thu stated that he has never been involved with or benefited from call-centre gangs. He only receives rental income of 50,000-100,000 baht for 1 acre (2.5 rai) of land. The land rental project began in 2018 and was part of a deal with Yatai Group, which received a concession from the Myanmar government. 

The project was initially set up legally under the Economic Cooperation Committee for area development. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, it was discovered that tenants had engaged in online scams, tarnishing the reputation of the project. 

He stated that since the news broke about the existence of call-centre gangs and human trafficking in Myawaddy, the BGF has been conducting sweeps starting from February 14 and will continue to eradicate them before the end of February. 

" The call-centre gangs have been damaging people worldwide, and military forces are being deployed to suppress these activities across all BGF areas, including Shwe Kokko and KK Park," he said.

"We will take responsibility for clearing out the call-centres in KK Park, Myawaddy, and Shwe Kokko and will send all foreign nationals to Myawaddy. It is then the responsibility of the Myanmar police, as the Naypyidaw central government has sent officers to handle the cases. From the tripartite meeting, each country will take their people back, but how they return, I don’t know," Saw Chit Thu said. 

He added that, in addition to the large number of Chinese nationals, there are also people from India, Africa, and Indonesia. Once they are gathered, Myanmar police will take their records, and the countries of origin will quickly retrieve them. As far as he knows, China will send a plane to pick up Chinese nationals at Mae Sot Airport, while other countries will coordinate through their embassies. Currently, there are 61 Indonesian nationals, but the embassy has yet to be contacted.

Saw Chit Thu further stated that he feels uncomfortable and saddened by the opposition party in Thailand proposing an arrest warrant against him. He wants to ask what law he has broken or how he has violated Thailand or its people. 

He mentioned that he has been living on the border for over 30 years, treating the Thai people like family. Whenever Thai officials need assistance, he has always cooperated, such as in the case of a Thai celebrity's employee who came to Myanmar, and he helped track them down. He also mentioned the case of a Chinese murder in Chonburi, where the body was dumped in the Ping River. After Thai authorities coordinated with him, the suspect fled towards the sea, and he helped deliver the criminal to Thailand. 

He feels that with all his help, he does not understand why an arrest warrant was issued against him and asks what crime he has committed.

Meanwhile, the DSI investigators held a second meeting with the prosecutors from the Human Trafficking Case Division to discuss the possibility of requesting an arrest warrant for Saw Chit Tu and two of his associates for their involvement in the trafficking of Indian call- centre workers.

Today, the DSI submitted the relevant evidence to the Office of the Attorney General and held a joint meeting for more than three hours. Afterwards, it was revealed that no decision had been made regarding the issuance of the arrest warrants. According to the procedure, after receiving the information, the prosecutors must thoroughly review the documents to ensure nothing has been overlooked. If any issues remain unclear, the DSI will need to submit additional documents.

Sources indicate that there is no specific time frame for the investigation into this case, as human trafficking cases have a statute of limitations of up to 20 years. As long as there are ongoing concerns, authorities can continue their investigations until all evidence is thoroughly gathered.

If sufficient evidence is found, an arrest warrant can be issued immediately. However, whether or not the suspects can be apprehended depends on the sovereignty of the respective country and will require an Interpol warrant to proceed.

Regarding concerns that the arrest warrant may have been influenced by government pressure, sources confirm that the investigation has been ongoing since 2022 but did not attract significant media attention at the time, which led to less public interest.

Sources emphasize that while the arrest warrant is within the authority of Thai officials, the prosecution and the process of detaining the suspects involve several agencies. Therefore, it cannot be confirmed whether Maung Chit Tu and his associates will be brought to prison.

(2025/02/17-00:00)