Indonesia to question more than 500 citizens freed from Myanmar scam centres

By Ananda Teresia and Stefanno Sulaiman

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia volition question hundreds of its citizens arriving successful the superior connected Tuesday aft they were rescued from online scam compounds successful Myanmar, the largest batch of arrivals successful the state pursuing a multinational crackdown connected the operation.

Myanmar's Myawaddy scam centres are portion of a Southeast Asia web involving transgression gangs trafficking hundreds of thousands of radical to assistance make illicit revenues moving into billions of dollars a year, according to the United Nations.

About 200 Indonesians arrived astatine Jakarta's airdrome connected Tuesday greeting from Myawaddy via Thailand and different 200 volition onshore successful the afternoon, the main information minister, Budi Gunawan, said successful a quality conference.

Around 154 much are expected to get connected Wednesday, Budi added. They were among 7,000 radical from antithetic nationalities freed from scam centres successful Myawaddy pursuing a multinational crackdown to dismantle the amerciable compounds.

"We volition behaviour an appraisal to find retired which ones amongst them are victims oregon perpetrators. Because possibly immoderate of them are the amerciable players," Budi said.

"We privation the Southeast Asia portion escaped from online scams," helium said.

The 554 people, consisting of 105 women and 449 men, volition beryllium taken to a dormitory usually reserved for hajj pilgrims wherever they volition beryllium questioned by police, helium said.

Those cleared would beryllium allowed to instrumentality location but those suspected of being consenting participants successful fiscal crimes would look ineligible processes successful Indonesia.

Footage showed the arriving Indonesians wearing reddish masks and bandanas and being welcomed by authorities, including overseas curate Sugiono, aft landing.

Some of them cried and hugged the officials.

Budi said immoderate of them were beaten and electrocuted earlier being rescued. Others were besides threatened that their assemblage parts would beryllium taken if they failed to conscionable targets acceptable by the cartel, helium added.

"Be cautious erstwhile you marque friends connected societal media. I americium the unfortunate of societal media," a subsister with the initials DN told reporters.

Earlier this month, different radical of 84 Indonesians returned location from Myanmar portion 70 others stay successful the country. Some of them were being detained and a fewer person refused to spell home, Budi said.

Aside from Indonesia, China and India person besides repatriated their citizens from Myawaddy but thousands inactive stay successful the country including those from African nations.

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Gibran Peshimam and Saad Sayeed)