Workers at Myanmar scam center raided by military cross into Thailand as buildings are bombed

The China=backed KK Park, identified by Thai officials and independent experts as housing cyber scam operations, was raided by Myanmar regime forces in mid-October as part of a crackdown starting in early September to suppress cross-border online scams and illegal gambling.

KK Park is located on the outskirts of Myawaddy, a major trading town on the border across from the Thai town of Mae Sot. The Myawaddy area is only loosely under the control of the regime in Naypyidaw, which seized power in a 2021 military coup. It uses its proxy militia, the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) to maintain control over lucrative border trade.

Witnesses on the Thai side of the border reported hearing explosions and seeing smoke coming from the center over the past several nights starting on Friday.

The Thai army’s Naresuan Task Force, which operates in Thailand’s northern region, said Monday that parts of KK Park were demolished by explosions carried out by Myanmar regime forces and its BGF. Debris from the blasts caused damage to several houses on the Thai side of the border.