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.

The scam center victims are mostly from Asian countries including China and India while some others came from East Africa, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Information.

Hundreds of human trafficking victims who were deceived and forced to work in Myanmar scam centers have been turned over to the Thai military, authorities said Thursday.

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.

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.