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Chinese-led scam operations and human trafficking surge in Karen State amid armed group control

Writer's picture: Saw Kyaw OoSaw Kyaw Oo

Online scam operations, locally known as Kyar Phyant, run by Chinese-led online gambling syndicates and located in Myawaddy Township along the Thai-Myawaddy border, have drawn considerable international attention.


Shwe Kokko, a town in Myawaddy Township, has become a hub for organized crime and human trafficking due to the government’s limited control and oversight of this area. Chinese-led development projects in the Yatai New City in Shwe Kokko and at KK Park, south of Myawaddy, have been linked to illegal gambling, human trafficking, extortion, and cyber scam activities.


The rising number of arrests and reports of mistreatment by these scam networks has sparked global concern, with international media highlighting the issue as a major transnational threat.

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