The long arm of the law in Thailand is getting longer. Police in Thailand and China collaborated to arrest 12 members of a transnational criminal network engaged in human trafficking and predicted more arrests would be made soon.

The criminal gangs have lured thousands of victims to countries that share borders with Thailand through fake offers of good-paying jobs. Once over the border the gangs hold them prisoner and force them to work in online scam centers against their will.

An estimated 6,000-plus people from 12 countries have fallen victim to the traffickers. China has called on all Southeast Asian nations to crack down on online scam operations, and digital ministers from around the region pledged to do just that during a previously scheduled conference. 

While the problem of scamming exists in nearly every country, in recent years, many scam operations have become concentrated in countries neighboring Thailand. Some of the countries are hampered by weak governance and others are embroiled in civil conflicts that have led to a breakdown in law and order.

Thailand has reached out to the governments of those countries, and they have responded positively, saying they will cooperate more closely to target the scam operations and put them out of business.

Thai security officials have also discussed the problem with some rebel groups who control areas where the trafficking gangs and fraud operations are flourishing. Rebel leaders also promised they would work to shut down the gangs and expel them from their territory.

The gangs have become so brazen that even Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters that she had received a call from a scammer pretending to be another leader in the region. The Prime Minister was quick to realize, however, that she was being targeted by a fraudster.