Myanmar’s military government said on Sunday (Nov 23) that it has arrested nearly 1,600 foreign nationals in a sweeping five-day operation targeting one of the country’s most infamous online scam hubs along the Thai border. The high-profile crackdown comes as the junta faces growing pressure from China to rein in sprawling criminal syndicates that have taken root in Myanmar’s conflict-torn borderlands.
According to state-run The Global New Light of Myanmar, authorities detained 1,590 foreign nationals between Nov 18 and 22 in raids on the Shwe Kokko special economic zone, a notorious gambling and fraud compound controlled by militia groups aligned with the military. The arrests targeted individuals who allegedly entered the country illegally to work in cyber-fraud operations.
The junta said security forces also seized a vast trove of equipment used to run scam centres, including 2,893 computers, 21,750 mobile phones, 101 Starlink satellite receivers, 21 routers, and other industrial-scale hardware. Images published by local media showed a steamroller crushing rows of computer monitors and piles of smashed mobile phones at the Shwe Kokko compound on Saturday, a display designed to underscore the seriousness of the crackdown.
Last month, independent investigations revealed that Starlink satellite internet receivers had been installed on a large scale in scam compounds across Myanmar’s border regions. In response, the Elon Musk–owned company disconnected more than 2,500 Starlink devices operating near suspected scam hubs, cutting off key communications infrastructure used by criminal syndicates.
On Saturday alone, The Global New Light of Myanmar reported that authorities detained 223 people accused of running online fraud and gambling operations at Shwe Kokko. Among them were 100 Chinese nationals, underscoring the international dimension of the criminal networks and the growing concern in Beijing.
Scam cities and cyber-slavery compounds have mushroomed across Myanmar’s loosely governed borderlands since the February 2021 military coup plunged the country into civil war. Militias operating under the protection of the junta have profited enormously from the surge in scam operations, which target victims globally with romance scams, cryptocurrency investment fraud, and coercive online schemes.
While China remains a key supporter of the Myanmar military, analysts say Beijing’s patience has worn thin. Chinese citizens make up a significant portion of the workers trafficked into scam compounds and the victims defrauded by syndicates operating out of Myanmar. Beijing has repeatedly pressed Naypyidaw to rein in the criminal ecosystem, seeing it as a threat to domestic stability and regional security.
“The junta is trying to show China that it is responding, but many of these actions are largely performative,” said an independent security monitor who tracks cross-border crime. “These raids are designed to appease Beijing while protecting the deeper financial interests of military-linked groups.”
Rights groups and regional analysts believe that while the crackdown may disrupt some operations, it is unlikely to dismantle the highly profitable networks that have flourished under militia control. Many of the compounds operate with the tacit consent of local armed groups who benefit from protection payments and revenue-sharing arrangements.
A UN report earlier this year estimated that scam syndicates across Southeast and East Asia swindled victims out of up to US$37 billion in 2023—with the real global figure believed to be far higher. Myanmar’s border regions, especially areas under militia or semi-autonomous armed group control, have emerged as the epicentre of this transnational criminal economy.
Many scam hubs employ thousands of workers, including people trafficked from China, Thailand, Nepal, and Africa—lured with promises of legitimate jobs before being forced into cyber fraud under threat of violence.
As pressure mounts from China and the international community, the junta’s latest operation is unlikely to mark the end of Myanmar’s scam industry. But for now, authorities appear keen to showcase action, even as observers warn the crackdown may only scratch the surface of a far deeper, more entrenched criminal enterprise.
