Thai officials have halted cross-border telecommunication services to suspected scam centers in Poipet, Cambodia, sparking a dispute with Cambodian counterparts who denounced the move.
The infrastructure cut to the Cambodian city in Banteay Meanchey province, known for harboring scam centers, is the latest cross-border move against the illicit industry after a high-profile Chinese victim was trafficked from Thailand to a compound in Myanmar earlier this year.
Thai media reports said the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission began cutting telecom signals this week from Sa Kaeo province to international private leased circuit (IPLC) companies, which supply internet and phone services to dozens of Cambodian customers, citing a contract breach for using the services to commit crimes.
The Thai police department in Sa Kaeo, responsible for the telecom severance, did not immediately respond to an email for comment.
National and provincial police in Cambodia have denied the investigation and action, calling it a one-sided decision rather than a joint effort with corroboration from the Cambodian side.
“This is a unilateral announcement, they [Thai police] haven’t conducted a joint investigation with Cambodian police counterparts at all, so whether they [scam centers] exist or not, is based on the Thai’s claims,” said National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun.
“I cannot accept this dissemination,” he asserted.
Banteay Meanchey provincial police chief Sith Luos also denied scam centers operate in his jurisdiction, dismissing the telecom cuts as based on “allegations” and saying Thai authorities have not collaborated with his department.
Despite the dismissals, there have been several reports of scam centers operating in Poipet and trafficking foreign nationals into forced criminality.
In October 2024, 67 Indians were removed from a scam compound after being lured with fraudulent job offers, according to the Indian Embassy in Phnom Penh.
Separately, on Sunday, four Thais allegedly lured by scam syndicates to work in Poipet were rescued by Thai authorities, local media reported.
In a similar move on Feb. 5, Thai officials cut power, fuel and internet supply to parts of Myanmar in an attempt to choke scam centers.
The intensified crackdown from the Thai side follows growing pressure from victimized countries such as China to shutdown the illicit scam centers that are also rampant in Laos and war-torn Myanmar.
After a multilateral meeting last month with senior Chinese and Mekong officials to strengthen these efforts, the Cambodian government swiftly announced the creation of an Inter-Ministerial Task Force Committee – a move aimed at bolstering its fight against online scams amid ongoing reports of inaction or negligence.
But less than a week later, two local journalists were detained and charged with incitement for publishing a video showing an alleged forced scammer being beaten in a Cambodian scam compound. Phnom Penh police claimed the video spread false information.
Banteay Meanchey provincial governor Oum Reatrey declined to comment on the telecom cuts in Thailand or criminal activity in Poipet. Post and Telecommunication Ministry spokesperson Liv Sophanarith could not be reached for comment.
