Efforts to shut down online scam centers in Myanmar appear to gain momentum with a visit by a top Chinese official to the border zone ahead of expected large-scale repatriations of workers in the illicit industry.

China will fly home about 200 of its nationals found in scam-running compounds on the Thai-Myanmar border, a Thai security official said on Tuesday, as part of a multinational effort to crack down on illegal online operations run from the region.

(Reuters) - Myanmar authorities detained 273 foreigners from scam compounds along the border with Thailand on Monday, as a senior Chinese official visited frontier towns on both sides in a widening crackdown on illegal online operations.

Foreign nationals from several countries have been held at the border and forced to participate in a variety of scams.

Authorities in Myanmar, with Chinese and Thai collaboration, detained 273 foreigners from scam compounds at the Thailand border. This marks a broader crackdown on illicit online activities. These centers,

China has ramped up efforts to combat international scam gangs operating along the Thai-Myanmar border by sending its assistant minister of public security, Liu Zhongyi, to the region to strengthen the crackdown.

Thailand will suspend electricity supply to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb scam centres, its government said on Tuesday, amid growing pressure on the illegal compounds that have ensnared vast numbers of people of multiple nationalities.