Myanmar regime media broadcasts military crackdown on scam centers

Myanmar’s military has begun broadcasting extensive video on regime media of its crackdown on online scam centers, showing buildings being bulldozed and over 1,000 foreigners detained.

Myanmar is notorious for hosting cyber scam operations that target people all over the world. They usually involve gaining a person’s confidence with romantic ploys and luring them into bogus investment schemes.

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has estimated that such activities generate just under $40 billion USD in annual revenue for criminal gangs.

The unusual length and detail of the reports beginning late last week on regime-run television appear to reflect the military’s desire to publicize its efforts after months of bad publicity and international pressure.

It is already ostracized by many nations for seizing power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government in 2021 and brutally fighting opponents.

The authorities recently raided two major scam centers, KK Park and Shwe Kokko, on the outskirts of Myawaddy Township, Karen State, a trading town on the border with Thailand.

The latest operation, which began on Nov. 18 in Shwe Kokko, resulted in the arrest of 1,746 foreigners in six days, according to a report on Monday in regime media.

There were other crackdowns earlier this year. Monday’s reports said a total of 12,586 foreigners have been detained since the end of January and 9,978 of them were deported to their home countries through Thailand.

Some foreigners, from African nations and elsewhere, have reported being tricked into working at the centers and being blocked from leaving them.

The reports said authorities confiscated 2,893 computers, 21,750 mobile phones, 101 Starlink satellite communications devices, 21 internet routers and a large quantity of other equipment used to carry out online fraud and gambling activities at Shwe Kokko.