Myanmar โJunta โฃRaids Online Scam Hub, Arrests Hundreds
Myawaddy,โฃ Myanmar – Myanmar’s military juntaโฃ announced the arrest of 346 foreignโ nationals during a large-scale operation targeting online gambling and scam operations, according to โฃaโ report in The Global New Lightโ of Myanmar. nearly 10,000โข cellphones used in โฃthe โคillicit โฃactivitiesโ were โขalso confiscated.The raid targeted areas notorious for hosting complex criminalโ enterprises that exploitโ both โคvictims ofโ human trafficking and those defrauded by online scams.
The crackdown comes as Myanmar’s borderโข regions haveโฃ become a haven forโ these operations since โthe 2021 coup and subsequent civil โwar. Analysts beleive these bases are staffed by thousandsโฃ of individuals, including volunteer workers and โขvictimsโค of humanโค trafficking โlured from abroad. China has expressed increasing concern over itsโข citizens becoming both perpetrators and victims of fraud originating in these areas, whileโฃ the โjunta itselfโค has blamed armed โขopposition groups for enabling the fraudulent activities.
The operation focused on the Shwe Kokko area, โขallegedly managed โฃby Yatai, a company owned by Chinese-Cambodian citizen she Zhijiang.โ She was arrested in Thailand in 2022 and extraditedโฃ to China last week to faceโ charges related โto online gambling and fraud.Both the โขUS and UK have sanctioned She and Yatai, โฃwithโค the US describing Shwe Kokko as a “resort town built specifically for gambling, drug trafficking, โprostitution and fraud targeting people around the world.”
this isโ not the first raid by the junta. In October, Myanmar’s military targeted the โฃKKโค Park online scam headquarters, destroying over 600 buildings. That raid prompted thousands to fleeโ across the border into Thailand, including 26 โขIndonesian citizens. The junta claimsโค to be taking action as โขit regains territorial control.
