YANGON, Myanmar: Myanmar police apprehended 95 people this week during raids on an online scam operation in the commercial hub of Yangon, authorities claimed.
Following a military takeover in February 2021, the nation has been in anarchy, with criminal syndicates taking advantage of the lawlessness to operate scam centers, especially in border regions.
On Thursday, authorities in Yangon detained 95 persons at three different residences; the majority of the detainees were Burmese, while a small number were foreign nationals of unknown nationality.
During the raids, police reportedly found a BMW, laptops, phones, desktop computers, and other material, according to a statement from the Myanmar government issued late Friday.
The statement said, “On the computers was data from people outside the country, used for scamming money online.”
Officers also raided the suspected operation ringleader, but he is still at large, it continued. With these operations, the Myanmar junta has declared large arrests for fraud in Yangon for the first time. Earlier arrests have mostly occurred along China’s northern border.
Beijing, a major ally, is putting pressure on Myanmar to eradicate the scam centers, which frequently prey on Chinese nationals.
In online fraud operations headquartered in Southeast Asia, criminal gangs are alleged to have tricked, abducted, or forced thousands of Chinese nationals and locals into forced labor.
Analysts claim that before persuading victims to provide them money for fictitious investments and other schemes, scammers usually spend weeks getting to know them.
As per the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the trafficking of people linked to casinos and fraud operations conducted by organized crime “has mushroomed across Southeast Asia, particularly in the Mekong,” with revenues reaching record heights.
According to a September assessment from the agency, the fraud business is bringing in billions of dollars for criminal gangs, with profits surpassing the GDP of some of the region’s countries.
Based on deceptive promises of romance or well-paying jobs, victims have reported flying to Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, only to be imprisoned and forced to scam people.
According to Thailand’s foreign ministry, 219 Thai citizens were drawn into people-trafficking and scam networks in northern Shan state and Myanmar. —APP
