Tangentially perhaps, what they’re talking about is related to pig butchering scams running out of “business parks” situated along the border with Thailand (in Cambodia and Myanmar). The people operating the scams are essentially kidnap victims lured with false job listings and coerced into working to pay off phony debts. Many of these are Chinese nationals but it seems to be a pretty mixed bag.

The article focuses on Chinese nationals seeking to leave the country to travel somewhere with casinos. Remote casino resorts have been sprouting up around various parts of Southeast Asia over the last decade or so. Many of these are also situated not far from the border with Thailand, but I’ve only heard of Chinese casinos in Myanmar and Laos. Casinos are illegal in Thailand so these attract Thai nationals as well as tourists looking to pass through Thailand to evade suspicion.

The owners/operators of these fraud centers and casinos are thought to related or even one and the same groups of Chinese “investors”/“businessmen”. This is largely anecdotal speculation however, as I’m not able to provide a reliable source for the connection here.