Russian Embassy in Thailand rescues six Russians from Myanmar call centers

The Russian Embassy in Thailand successfully rescued six Russians from Myanmar call centers in 2025, and another Russian woman flew to Russia in 2026, according to Yevgeny Tomikhin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Thailand, according to RIA Novosti.

In an interview with aif.ru, he noted that a transnational criminal network operates in several Southeast Asian countries, recruiting foreigners, including Russians, under the pretext of employment in Thailand. According to the ambassador, some Russians, after passing an "online interview," are invited to Bangkok, from where they are transported to Myanmar, bypassing border checkpoints. According to him, in the fall of 2025, security forces near the city of Myawaddy managed to partially destroy such call centers, releasing numerous foreigners, "though Russians were far from the top of the list."

"In total, during 2025, the embassy successfully rescued six Russians from Myanmar call centers. In early 2026, the diplomatic mission received information about a Russian citizen who had been deceived from Thailand to Myanmar for alleged forced labor. On February 3, her transfer to Thailand was arranged, and she later successfully returned home," Tomikhin said.

The diplomat emphasized that the Russian Embassy is in constant contact with Thai law enforcement agencies, the Kingdom's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok. Tomikhin urged Russians not to accept job offers without an official contract, work visa, or work permit, and to distrust employers who offer border crossings through third countries or who conceal the actual location and nature of the work.

At the same time, the ambassador added that not all Russian citizens are "victims" of such crimes—there have been cases of individuals deliberately traveling to Myanmar to earn money, aware of the criminal nature of such activities.