Myanmar junta under global pressure to raid scam hubs

The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military regime has launched a sweeping crackdown on scam centres along the Thai‑Myanmar border, demolishing more than 180 buildings and detaining over 1,000 foreign nationals. The move follows mounting international pressure, with both the United States and China demanding action against sprawling criminal networks that have flourished in the region.

Sources told Reuters that the order came directly from junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who warned senior officers that the scam compounds were severely damaging the country’s reputation. At a meeting in Hpa‑An last week, army officials instructed the Karen National Army (KNA) militia to act immediately. The KNA, sanctioned by Washington earlier this year for facilitating cyber scams and trafficking, has long been linked to the operations.

The urgency appears tied to fears of U.S. intervention. Washington recently announced a multi‑agency “Scam Centre Strike Force” involving the FBI and Secret Service, raising concerns in Naypyidaw that American teams could cross the border to investigate. “We must solve the problem ourselves,” one military official reportedly said.

By Tuesday, joint operations between the military and the KNA began around Myawaddy, a notorious hub for online fraud and human trafficking. State media reported the seizure of more than 2,600 computers and 21,000 mobile phones. Yet militia leaders insisted they were leading the raids, with the army joining later.

Scam centres in Southeast Asia have grown rapidly since the 1990s, initially linked to loosely regulated casinos and online gambling. The COVID‑19 pandemic accelerated their expansion, with criminal groups exploiting lockdowns and border closures. Myawaddy’s Shwe Kokko compound, established in 2017 by Hong Kong‑registered Yatai International Holdings, became emblematic of the problem.

The issue gained global attention earlier this year after the abduction of a Chinese actor in Thailand exposed the scale of the networks. Last week, Thailand extradited She Zhijiang, a gambling kingpin tied to Shwe Kokko, to China.

Analysts say the junta’s sudden zeal reflects pressure from two global powers. “The Myanmar military now sees clearly that more and more members of the international community are mobilising to address the massive threat to global security that the scam centres present,” said Jason Tower of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime.

Critics, however, warn that raids may be cosmetic. Both Shwe Kokko and KK Park, another compound in Myawaddy, have long operated under the protection of the Border Guard Force, raising doubts over whether the crackdown will dismantle the networks or simply appease foreign governments.

-2025-11-23