Thousands of foreigners freed from online scam-operating centres in Myanmar are stuck in limbo on the border with Thailand after a multinational crackdown on the compounds run by criminal gangs, three sources told Reuters on Monday.

An airlift carrying more than 1,000 Chinese nationals who had worked at online scam centers in eastern Myanmar began Thursday, after the rescued workers were taken across the border to Thailand and put on chartered flights to China.

In recent weeks, authorities from China, Thailand and Myanmar have attempted to dismantle scam centers and illegal online operations on the border