Human trafficking and scam compounds are sowing further rifts within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Laos effectively undermined attempts by Thailand to deny the criminal syndicates access to electricity supplies in Myanmar where they have flourished with impunity.

Thailand on Wednesday cut off power supplies to areas in Myanmar where scam networks operate, following a public outcry demanding government action to tackle the problem.

Residents in Myanmar’s Myawaddy township, on the border with Thailand, are suffering severe impacts from the Thai government’s decision to cut electricity, internet and fuel supplies to the township on Feb 5.

Thailand will suspend electricity supply to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb scam centres, its government said on Tuesday, amid growing pressure on the illegal compounds that have ensnared vast numbers of people of multiple nationalities.