Bangkok (VNA) - The Thai Senate's Committee on Natural Resources and Environment has urged strict enforcement of forest laws to remove illegal telecom towers aiding cross-border scam networks along the border areas.
Senator Chiwaphap Chiwatham, the committee's chairman, was quoted by local media as speaking ahead of a committee meeting, that the panel would examine reports on telecommunications towers suspected of aiding scam operations along Thailand's borders with Myanmar and Cambodia.
He revealed that many towers were reportedly erected in forest areas without official permission, an issue the government has prioritised under Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's directive.
Chiwaphap stated that removing these towers is key to disrupting cross-border scam networks, adding that previous enforcement efforts were incomplete. He said stricter measures, including asset seizures and legal action under anti-money laundering laws, are needed, as revenue from illegally installed towers could qualify as laundered money.
He stressed that proper approval is required for any tower in forest reserves or protected zones, citing areas along the borders with both countries that fall under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The senator said his committee will verify the locations of these towers, while emphasising that, in addition to removing the towers, legal action should be taken under forest and national park laws.
The committee had invited the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to join the meeting to provide geographical data on all border towers and clarify which sites are licenced.
In parliament, Atchariya Ruangrattanapong, adviser to the natural resources and environment minister and chairman of the Help Crime Victims Club, said two telecom companies regulated by the NBTC installed signal towers in forest areas along the borders without authorisation.
Atchariya said there are over 1,500 towers in these areas, including unlicensed ones. He warned that companies and NBTC officials could face serious charges of forest encroachment and money laundering. After gathering all the evidence, he plans to file legal complaints against all parties involved.
Atchariya added that suppressing such illegal towers is vital to fighting online fraud, which depends on three key elements: internet connections, mobile networks, and bank accounts.
He also mentioned widespread use of "ghost SIM cards" - unregistered or fake mobile numbers - used in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos to defraud Thai and foreign victims./.
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