Myanmar Border Scams Move Inland as Regional Crackdown Intensifies

Under mounting international pressure, scam syndicates are relocating operations inland from the Myanmar-Thai border, including to the regime-controlled Karen State capital of Hpa-an, according to sources monitoring the networks.

Border sources told The Irrawaddy that as regional crackdowns intensify, scam compounds controlled by the regime-aligned Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) in Kyauk Khet are being shifted to its headquarters in Sone See Myaing, as well as to Hlaingbwe, Paingkyon, Hpa-an, and as far as neighboring Mon State.

“Most of these relocations are being carried out jointly by the BGF [Karen Border Guard Force] and the DKBA,” a source told The Irrawaddy. “They moved because operations in places like Kyauk Khet are too visible, whether by satellite or directly from the Thai side.”