Thai police officials have held a meeting with foreign officials to discuss how to fight call center scams in neighboring Myanmar.

Ambassadors and representatives from 18 countries, including Japan, took part in the gathering on Monday.

Their meeting comes after 260 foreigners were taken into protective custody in western Thailand last week.
They came from 20 countries and regions and are believed to have been forced to work in scam centers across the border in Myanmar.

Participants in Monday's meeting discussed ways to determine whether people rescued from centers include scammers themselves, pretending to be victims.
The Thai police say they will push ahead with their investigation, and Thai authorities will collaborate with embassies to send victims back to their home countries.

Police officials revealed after the meeting that a 17-year-old Japanese male high school student rescued last month is believed to have been forced to work in a Japanese gang group. They say the gang mostly targets the elderly.

Foreign-run scam groups have been springing up in areas near the Thai border since Myanmar's 2021 coup.
In many cases, the groups confined foreigners and forced them to carry out the crimes.