Myanmar scam centre raid sends hundreds fleeing to Thailand
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Some 677 people fled from scam centre KK Park in Myanmar across the Moei River into Thailand as at Oct 23 morning.
PHOTO: AFP
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Bangkok – More than 600 people fled one of Myanmar’s most notorious scam centres and crossed into Thailand, a Thai provincial official told AFP on Oct 23, after a military raid on the compound.
Sprawling compounds where internet fraudsters target people with romance and business cons have thrived along Myanmar’s loosely governed border during its civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup.
A highly publicised crackdown starting in February saw around 7,000 workers repatriated and Thailand enact a cross-border internet blockade.
But an AFP investigation in October revealed construction has continued apace, while Starlink internet service receivers have been installed
Mr Sawanit Suriyakul Na Ayutthaya, deputy governor of Thailand’s Tak province on the Myanmar border, told AFP “677 people fled from the scam centre” KK Park in Myanmar across the Moei River into Thailand as at the morning of Oct 23.
Another crowd of more than 100 people gathered on the Myanmar side of the main local border crossing to Thailand early on Oct 23, an AFP journalist saw, many carrying large suitcases and backpacks.
A driver in the area, speaking anonymously for security reasons, estimated 700 people had made illegal overnight crossings.
While some scam workers are clearly trafficked into often fortified compounds, experts say others go voluntarily with hopes of earning more in the multibillion-dollar illicit industry than they can at home.
Mr Sawanit said immigration police and the military had provided assistance “under humanitarian procedures”.
Those who crossed “will undergo screening” to determine whether they have been victims of human trafficking or if they may be prosecuted for crossing the border illegally, he said.
The Tak Provincial Administration office, which oversees the area, said in a statement that the group entering from Myanmar comprised “foreign nationals” – both men and women – and the authorities expected more to cross into Thailand.
Conned out of billions
Indonesian state news agency Antara reported that around 20 Indonesians had “successfully crossed into Thai territory via the Moei River” as of the evening of Oct 22, according to the Indonesian Embassy in Yangon, which cited Thai authorities.
Experts say Myanmar’s military has long turned a blind eye to scam centres which profit its militia allies, crucial collaborators in their fight against rebels.
The junta has also faced pressure to shut down scam operations from its military backer China, irked at the number of its citizens both participating in and being targeted by the scams.
But military crackdowns on scam hubs are likely token efforts organised in cahoots with allied militias in an attempt to appease China without badly denting profits, analysts say.
“Because of the news, it became a need for our organisation to resolve it carefully,” said Mr Saw Tin Win, a senior figure in the most powerful local militia.
“There is pressure from the military, so we warned people not to continue bad things,” he added, a Myanmar media outlet reported on the evening of Oct 22.
The transnational scam industry has ballooned in South-east Asia in recent years, with thousands of scammers involved, experts say.
Victims in the wider region were conned out of up to US$37 billion (S$48 billion) in 2023, according to a UN report.
Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office seized assets worth 70 million baht (S$2.77 million) from Cambodian senator and tycoon Ly Yong Phat as part of an investigation into scam centres and his businesses, a senior police official told local media on Oct 22.
The US government sanctioned Ly Yong Phat in 2024 for alleged abuses related to human trafficking in scam centres.
Thailand’s deputy finance minister Vorapak Tanyawong resigned on Oct 22 following allegations linking him to cyberscam operations based in neighbouring Cambodia.
Cambodian authorities said on Oct 23 they had arrested 57 more South Koreans for alleged involvement in cyberscams, as well as 29 Chinese nationals, during a police operation in the capital Phnom Penh – adding to 64 South Koreans deported last week for alleged links to the fraud networks. AFP
