Business as Usual at Myawaddy Scam Hubs After Myanmar Junta’s KK Park ‘Raid’

Scam operations in Karen State’s Myawaddy Township are operating as usual, according to locals, despite the junta’s purported “raid” on major scam hub KK Park—an operation that, though widely dismissed as a PR stunt, has prompted many of its workers to move to nearby crime centers.

Thousands of workers have fled the scam compound since Oct. 22 amid reports that another junta “raid” is pending, but another 100-acre (40-hectare) compound near Mae Htaw Thalay Village not far from KK Park is operating as usual, guarded by hundreds of soldiers and junta-aligned Karen State Border Guard Force (BGF) personnel, according to locals.

One resident of Mae Htaw Thalay reported seeing around 30 BGF vehicles with an average of five BGF members each arriving in the village and in Ingyin Myaing Village from Myawaddy on Friday. “I also saw at least 100 Myanmar military troops from the 22nd Light Infantry Division being deployed near the 100-acre compound,” he said.