Sprawling fraud factories have proliferated across Myanmar’s conflict-hit border regions in recent years, hosting large networks of scammers who target victims worldwide with romance and business schemes worth tens of billions of dollars annually.
Although Myanmar’s junta has long been accused of ignoring the operations—many of which are run by militia allies—experts say the regime has been touting a crackdown since February after mounting pressure from Beijing, its key military backer.
Analysts argue that the latest round of raids, which began last month, is largely a propaganda effort orchestrated to ease Chinese pressure while avoiding serious disruption to the lucrative networks that enrich powerful armed groups aligned with the junta.
According to state media The Global New Light of Myanmar, soldiers stormed the Shwe Kokko gambling and fraud hub on Tuesday morning.
“During the operation, 346 foreign nationals currently under scrutiny were arrested,” the report said.
“Nearly ten thousand mobile phones used in online gambling operations were also seized.”
Since the 2021 coup plunged the country into civil war, Myanmar’s loosely governed borderlands have become fertile ground for criminal syndicates running large scam centres, many of which are staffed not only by willing workers but also by trafficked victims from across Asia.
Beijing has grown increasingly frustrated by the number of Chinese nationals involved in such operations—both as perpetrators and victims—pushing the junta to take more visible action.
On Wednesday, the junta blamed armed resistance groups for sheltering scam compounds but claimed it had been able to act after regaining territorial control.
State media said the Yatai group, linked to Chinese-Cambodian businessman She Zhijiang, was the primary operator of the Shwe Kokko zone. She, previously sanctioned by the US and UK, was arrested in Thailand in 2022 and extradited to China last week to face charges related to online gambling and fraud.
Washington has accused She of transforming a small border village into Shwe Kokko, describing it as “a resort city custom-built for gambling, drug trafficking, prostitution, and scams targeting people around the world.”
In October, the junta announced raids on nearby KK Park, another major scam centre where authorities say they are now demolishing more than 600 buildings.
A widely publicised crackdown earlier this year saw around 7,000 suspected scammers repatriated, while Thailand implemented a cross-border internet blockade in response.
Scam victims across Southeast and East Asia lost as much as $37 billion in 2023, according to a UN report, which warned that the real global losses were likely “much larger”.
