Key points
- Nearly ten thousand phones seized from gambling operations.
- Junta crackdown follows pressure from key backer China.
- Shwe Kokko linked to alleged racketeer She Zhijiang.
- KK Park raids include demolition of 600 buildings.
YANGON, Myanmar: Myanmar’s military said it raided an internet scam hub on the Thai border, arresting nearly 350 people as part of a highly publicised crackdown on the booming black-market compounds.
Sprawling fraud factories have expanded rapidly in conflict-hit border regions, employing scammers who target internet users with romance and business schemes worth tens of billions of dollars each year, reports AFP.
Authorities had long been accused of turning a blind eye, but officials have launched a series of crackdowns since February after pressure from key partner China, according to experts.
Additional raids beginning last month were described by some monitors as a coordinated effort to ease Beijing’s concerns while avoiding major disruption to the profits flowing to local militia groups allied with the authorities.
On Tuesday morning, security forces descended on the gambling and fraud hub of Shwe Kokko, according to state media outlet The Global New Light of Myanmar.
“During the operation, 346 foreign nationals currently under scrutiny were arrested,” the report said, adding that nearly 10,000 mobile phones used in online gambling operations were seized.
Since the 2021 takeover triggered nationwide conflict, Myanmar’s loosely governed borderlands have become fertile ground for scam centres employing thousands of workers — including people trafficked from abroad.
China has grown increasingly concerned by the number of its citizens involved as both perpetrators and victims of these cross-border fraud schemes, analysts say.
On Wednesday, authorities blamed armed opposition groups for allowing scam operations to function under their protection, saying action was taken after security forces regained control of the area.
In October, authorities announced raids on the nearby KK Park scam centre, where more than 600 buildings are now being demolished, according to officials.
A major crackdown that began in February saw around 7,000 suspected scammers repatriated, while Thailand implemented a cross-border internet blockade to curb the operations.
Scam victims in Southeast and East Asia alone lost up to $37 billion in 2023, according to a UN report, which added that global losses were likely far higher.
