Forty-seven Nepalis held in illegal online scamming centres in Myanmar’s Myawaddy region have been rescued and flown back to Kathmandu with the support of Thai and Myanmar authorities, the Nepali Embassy in Bangkok said on Wednesday.

The individuals—45 men and two women from 26 districts—had been forced to work in telecom fraud and online gambling operations in Shwe Kokko and KK Park, areas notorious for criminal syndicates. They were brought home on Nepal Airlines flight RA402 on Wednesday.

According to the embassy, the rescued group includes five people from Jhapa; three each from Sindhupalchok, Udayapur, Rupandehi, Gorkha and Dhading; two each from Dang, Mahottari, Morang, Nawalparasi, Nuwakot, Syangja and Tanahun; and one each from Chitwan, Dailekh, Kaski, Kathmandu, Kavrepalanchok, Palpa, Ramechhap, Rautahat, Salyan, Sarlahi, Sindhuli, Taplejung and Tehrathum districts.

Their ages ranged from 17 to 41, and they had been confined in the scamming centres for periods ranging from two to 18 months. Most were skilled in IT and had learned only after about three months that they were being used in online fraud schemes.

An embassy official said Myanmar’s military had raided the centres and freed the Nepalis, who were later taken into custody by Thai immigration authorities in Mae Sot before being handed over to the embassy.

The embassy said it is still unclear how many Nepalis remain trapped in similar centres. Earlier, 14 other Nepalis were rescued and repatriated from Myanmar on November 5.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Information said joint teams involving security forces, administrative bodies and local authorities have been carrying out continuous raids in Shwe Kokko and KK Park. Since October 19 alone, more than 2,000 citizens from 28 countries have been transferred from Myanmar to Thailand following the crackdown.

Authorities have seized 708 computers and declared 10 of the 121 inspected buildings illegal. In KK Park, 351 of the 635 illegal structures have been demolished as part of an ongoing effort to dismantle scamming infrastructure.

The Myanmar government has designated telecom fraud and online gambling as crimes and vowed to continue coordinated operations with neighbouring countries to prevent such rackets from re-emerging.

Many of the rescued Nepalis had travelled to Myanmar after applying for jobs advertised as IT specialists, digital marketers or customer service representatives. “We were taken legally into Myanmar but had our passports confiscated once inside KK Park and were forced to work under strict security,” one victim said.

The Nepali Embassy has been issuing travel advisories since August 8 after growing reports of Nepalis being trapped in scamming hubs across Cambodia, Laos and the Myanmar–Thailand border. In the last three fiscal years, 364 Nepalis have been rescued from such centres, including 140 in the current fiscal year alone.