BANGKOK: In a recent report on Tuesday, the United Nations shed light on the troubling reality of organized crime syndicates orchestrating Asia’s “scamdemic” from remote bases situated in Myanmar’s border area with China.
These clandestine locations pose significant challenges for law enforcement to access, enabling traffickers to hold victims captive and perpetrate online scams with impunity.
Major criminal enterprises based in China, Taiwan, and the Mekong region, including the Philippines, have orchestrated elaborate schemes involving romance scams, extortion, and investment pyramid fraud, leading to billions of dollars being scammed from unsuspecting victims. Despite efforts to crack down on such activities in certain countries like Cambodia and the Philippines, criminal networks are evolving and refining their strategies from fortified compounds shielded by ethnic rebels in Myanmar’s conflict-ridden landscape.
A significant hub of criminal activity has emerged in the Myawaddy region of Myanmar, adjacent to the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Additionally, compounds have sprouted along Myanmar’s eastern frontier with China, extending north through Shan State, Wa State, and up to Kokang, bordering China’s Yunnan province. These bases operate under the protection of ethnic militias, trafficking not only drugs and wildlife but also people, far from the grasp of Myanmar’s military government embroiled in a widespread rebellion against pro-democracy activists.
The report emphasizes Myanmar’s unique susceptibility, given its non-state armed groups controlling critical border areas and historically collaborating with organized crime syndicates. These groups operate casinos in autonomous Special Regions and border towns, including Tachileik adjacent to Thailand, contributing to the complex web of criminal enterprises.
Young and educated individuals initially lured under the pretence of high-paying tech or internet sales jobs, become trapped within these scam compounds. Many find themselves having to pay hefty ransoms to secure their release. The UNODC underscores the need for international collaboration to combat this crisis effectively, given the extensive scale and transnational nature of these criminal operations.
The transformation of casinos in Cambodia into scam parks during the pandemic underscores the adaptability and convergence of criminal groups, exploiting vulnerabilities in the region. As enforcement efforts intensify in some countries, criminals relocate their operations to remote and border areas, anticipating minimal accountability and greater opportunities.
Within Myanmar, the scam compounds are strategically positioned within special economic zones, blending tourism and tax incentives with purpose-built structures solely dedicated to facilitating large-scale online scams and fraud. The victims within these compounds endure harsh conditions, with little hope of escape due to fortified facilities and armed guards.
The criminal networks exploit trafficked labor, coercing victims to toil for minimal or no pay and compelling them to spend their earnings within the compound. Disturbing reports of abuse and torture have surfaced from those who managed to escape, underscoring the urgent need to address this grave issue.
Efforts by nongovernmental organizations and embassies have yielded partial success in negotiating the release of victims from some compounds. However, the remote compounds in Shan State present a grim reality, leaving victims isolated and far from assistance.
