A TOTAL of 24 telecom and internet fraud suspects have been brought back from Myanmar to China in four days, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said Saturday.

At Myanmar’s Yangon International Airport, Myanmar police handed over six suspects to Chinese police Aug. 23, five suspects Aug. 24, eight suspects Aug. 25, and five suspects Aug. 26, respectively, the embassy said.

The suspects, who were detained in Myanmar by the police, allegedly operated telecom fraud targeting people on the Chinese mainland.

An increasing number of telecom fraud organizations have moved their dens out of China to avoid police crackdowns in recent years, China’s Ministry of Public Security has said.

Since the beginning of this year, Chinese police have launched joint operations with police forces from the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, and captured more than 300 suspects, the ministry said, adding that these cases are still under investigation.

Meanwhile, a former academic researcher who was tricked into working for telecom fraud gangs in Myawaddy township, Myanmar, more than a year ago has been rescued, Chinese media reported Friday.

The public has been closely following the high-profile case of the man, identified as Zhang Shi, as people were shocked to learn that a well-educated person could become a victim of telecom fraud gangs.

A source that has been providing assistance to the rescue mission said Zhang was rescued in Myawaddy on Thursday and taken to Thailand the same day, according to Beijing News.

The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar and its counterpart in Thailand were both involved in the case. The source added that Zhang, 34, is safe and will later return to China.

(Xinhua, China Daily)