Myanmar’s military has carried out a large scale raid on an online scam hub located along the Thai border, detaining nearly 350 individuals as part of a widely promoted crackdown on illegal cyber fraud centres. The operation follows growing pressure to act against black market compounds that have expanded across the region in recent years.
The army attributed the existence of these scam centres to armed opposition groups which it says allowed the operations to run under their protection. Officials stated that the military moved in only after regaining control of the territory.
State media reported that troops entered the Shwe Kokko area on Tuesday morning. According to the official daily, “During the operation, 346 foreign nationals currently under scrutiny were arrested.” Authorities also seized almost 10000 mobile phones believed to have been used for online gambling activities. The area was linked to the Yatai firm associated with She Zhijiang, a Chinese Cambodian figure accused of running gambling and fraud operations. He was arrested in Thailand in 2022 and extradited to China last week. He and his company had previously faced sanctions in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Since the pandemic, border regions connecting Thailand Myanmar Laos and Cambodia have become hotspots for online scam networks. The United Nations estimates that these operations have made billions of dollars through the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of people coerced into working in scam compounds.
Myanmar’s military government has often been accused of ignoring the issue. However experts say that since February the authorities have stepped up raids after strong lobbying from China, a key ally. Some observers believe the recent operations form part of a broader propaganda effort aimed at easing pressure from Beijing while protecting profit flows for militia groups aligned with the military.
The country’s border areas have become even more vulnerable since the 2021 coup which triggered civil conflict. Analysts say the loosely governed territories have enabled scam hubs to expand, employing both voluntary workers and trafficked individuals from other countries.
In October the military reported arresting more than 2000 people during a raid on KK Park, another well known scam centre near the Thai border. In September the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned over 20 companies and individuals in Cambodia and Myanmar accused of involvement in similar scam activities.
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