Myawaddy: The Myanmar military has announced the capture of one of the most infamous scam compounds situated on the border with Thailand, reclaiming significant territory amid the ongoing civil war.
According to BBC, KK Park, located south of the border town of Myawaddy, is notorious for its connections to online fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking over the past five years. Thousands of individuals were reportedly drawn to the complex with promises of lucrative employment, only to be coerced into executing elaborate scams that siphoned billions of dollars from global victims.
The compound's origins trace back to a 2020 lease agreement aimed at developing an industrial park between the Karen National Union (KNU) and Huanya International, a lesser-known Hong Kong-listed company. Researchers have suggested potential ties between Huanya and Wan Kuok Koi, a prominent Chinese underworld figure known as Broken Tooth, who has invested in other border scam centers.
The Myanmar military, in a statement from its information ministry, claimed to have "cleared" KK Park, freeing over 2,000 workers and confiscating 30 of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite terminals, commonly used by scam centers for online activities. The statement accused the "terrorist" KNU and volunteer defense forces, adversaries of the junta since the coup, of illegally occupying the area.
The junta's announcement appears directed towards China, its primary patron. Beijing has urged the junta and the Thai government to curb illegal businesses operated by Chinese syndicates along their border. Earlier this year, thousands of Chinese workers were repatriated from scam compounds following Thailand's restrictions on power and fuel supplies.
However, KK Park is just one of over 30 similar compounds along the border, many under the protection of Karen militia groups allied with the junta. These compounds continue to operate, with tens of thousands of people involved in scams.
The support from these militia groups has been pivotal for the military in reclaiming territory from the KNU and other resistance factions. The military now controls nearly the entire road connecting Myawaddy to the rest of Myanmar, a strategic goal ahead of the planned election stage in December. This includes Lay Kay Kaw, a town established for the KNU with Japanese funding in 2015, which represents a more substantial loss for the KNU than KK Park.
A source informed the BBC that scam operations persist in KK Park, suggesting the military may only control part of the complex. The source also indicated that Beijing is providing the Myanmar military with lists of Chinese nationals to be extradited for trial in China, possibly motivating the attack on KK Park.