An ongoing effort targeting scam compounds along Thailand's border with Myanmar has led to only a small proportion of workers there being pulled out, a top Thai opposition lawmaker said, calling for more comprehensive measures to stomp out a booming illegal industry.

Hundreds of exhausted young men lie in an open-sided detention centre in a seedy Myanmar border town, sweating through thick tropical heat by day and prey to clouds of mosquitoes by night.

Before that, around 260 people from 20 countries crossed into Thai custody from Myanmar as part of the crackdown. Over 100 remain in Thailand awaiting repatriation. Many of these people were trafficked to Myanmar via Mae Sot, which is currently a hub for mass repatriation efforts.