Thailand targets Cambodian scam centres as border dispute rages

BANGKOK – Thailand announced a raft of security and trade measures to cripple transnational crime syndicates in Cambodia, as Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra seeks an upper hand in a simmering border dispute with its neighbour.

Bangkok will restrict border crossings to Cambodia across seven provinces, and halt exports of goods including fuel that abet transnational criminal activities, Ms Paetongtarn told reporters on June 23 after chairing a meeting of officials and security agencies.

Bangkok will coordinate its efforts with foreign governments and international organisations to dismantle the criminal hub that’s estimated to generate more than 600 billion baht (S$23.53 billion) a year, she said.

The crackdown comes in the wake of a political crisis triggered by Ms Paetongtarn’s comments in a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which caused a key party to quit her coalition, reducing its majority in Parliament.

She has since vowed to deal more firmly with Cambodia in the border stand-off.

The border row has escalated, with the two countries curbing trade and people’s mobility in tit-for-tat moves since an exchange of gunfire between troops in May.

Cambodia suspended imports of Thai fuel and gas from June 23 after the Thai army closed one of the border crossings.

The measures targeting scam centres follow similar efforts earlier in 2025, when Thailand cut off electricity, internet access and fuel supplies to some areas in Myanmar suspected to house cyber scam operations.

Thailand and Cambodia had also jointly dismantled a scam centre that housed hundreds of trafficked foreign workers in casino city Poipet.

Across South-east Asia, the billion-dollar cyber scam operations have been expanding, particularly in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

They are often run by Chinese fugitives who fled their home nation in 2020 following a domestic crackdown.

Earlier in 2025, thousands of workers