Chinese and Malagasy police have carried out their first joint operation targeting telecom and online fraud, dismantling multiple criminal dens in the Malagasy capital Antananarivo and other areas, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced Monday.

The operation comes as telecom fraud syndicates, squeezed out of Southeast Asia by intensified crackdowns, have increasingly relocated to regions that include the Middle East, Africa and Central America.

Madagascar has emerged as one such destination, with its own authorities acknowledging a significant influx of fraud operators from Southeast Asia.

At the invitation of Malagasy authorities, Chinese police sent a working group to assist with the anti-fraud crackdown. Malagasy officials helped repatriate the first batch of 50 suspects to China on Sept. 8. Investigations into the cases are underway.

China has in recent years strengthened law enforcement cooperation with over 30 countries, including Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Myanmar, to tackle cross-border telecom and cyber fraud, developing cooperation mechanisms and achieving results in joint efforts against these crimes.

Since 2023, China and Myanmar have carried out joint operations that led to the dismantling of four major criminal gangs in Myanmar's Kokang region. Earlier this year, police authorities from China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates conducted their first joint law enforcement operation, resulting in the arrest of 276 suspects.

Cooperation with Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other countries has also led to the arrest and repatriation of more than 20,000 telecom and online fraud suspects this year.

Earlier this month, China initiated the International Alliance Combating Telecom and Cyber Fraud, with 46 founding member countries. The alliance is an intergovernmental organization designed to promote cooperation among law enforcement agencies in tackling transnational telecom and cyber fraud and related crimes.

Through this new alliance, China will work with law enforcement partners worldwide to root out illegal fraud hideouts, track down suspects and protect the legitimate rights and interests of people, an official with the MPS said.