Thailand's army says some 260 people believed to have been trafficked and trapped into working in online scam centers are to be repatriated after they were rescued from Myanmar.

The expulsion of foreigners from the Myanmar enclave comes after unprecedented pressure on online fraud operations.

The regime claims it is working with China to break apart online scam operations near the Chinese border in northern Shan State.

More than 250 people rescued from online scam centers in Myanmar were handed over to Thailand on Feb. 12, a senior Thai army official said, following a series of crackdowns on the illegal operations.

Thailand will cut off electricity, internet access and oil supplies to some areas in Myanmar suspected to house cyber scam operations, widening a crackdown after a high-profile trafficking of a Chinese actor put a spotlight on criminal activities across the Thai borders.

The group had been working at a scam center in Kyauk Khet Village in Karen State, according to the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), which controls the area.

A Myanmar ethnic militia said on Saturday it was preparing to deport 10,000 people linked to cyber scams in the area it controls to Thailand as part of a crackdown