MYANMAR’S military government intensified its offensive against large-scale online scam operations on Tuesday with a raid on a major fraud hub in Shwe Kokko, detaining 346 foreign nationals and confiscating nearly 10,000 mobile phones, state media reported, marking the second major crackdown in the border region this year.
AP reported on Thursday that the operation follows a mid-October raid on the KK Park scam compound near Myawaddy, a key trading town on the Thai border, where more than 1,500 foreigners from around two dozen countries were displaced after the facility’s demolition, including through controlled explosions.
Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said the latest action targeted cross-border scams that typically lure victims through online romantic schemes and fake investment opportunities, which the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates generate close to $40 billion annually across Southeast Asia.
“Authorities detained 346 foreigners and confiscated nearly 10,000 mobile phones along with other related equipment, while blocking people who were trying to flee across the border,” Zaw Min Tun stated, emphasising that the military was committed to “completely eradicate scam activities from their roots.”
He also highlighted China’s cooperation in combating Myanmar’s scam networks.
The Shwe Kokko and Myawaddy regions remain only partially controlled by the central military government and are heavily influenced by ethnic minority militias.
Several Karen militias operate in the area, including the military-aligned Border Guard Force, which participated in the raid, and the Karen National Union (KNU), which opposes the army as part of Myanmar’s ongoing nationwide resistance against military rule.
While the Border Guard Force claimed credit for assisting in the crackdown, it had previously been suspected of providing protection to scam operators, and both it and the KNU have denied any involvement in the fraud operations.
Critics of the military government have questioned the sincerity of the crackdown, suggesting that the raids, including the previous operation at KK Park, were largely performative, with masterminds of the scams continuing operations elsewhere.
Zaw Min Tun addressed these concerns in his statement, aiming to reassure the public that the army’s efforts were genuine, and to counter skepticism circulating on social media and among opponents of the regime.
The latest raid underscores the challenges facing Myanmar’s military government, which has been diplomatically isolated by Western nations following the 2021 ousting of Aung San Suu Kyi and subsequent human rights abuses, while relying on China as a key ally in security and cross-border enforcement. - November 20, 2025
