Thousands detained as Myanmar military raids notorious KK park scam compound | Myanmar
Myanmar’s military raided a massive online fraud operation near the Thai border, detaining more than 2,000 people and seizing dozens of Starlink satellite internet terminals, state media reported.
The Myanmar military raided KK Park, a well-documented cybercrime hotspot, as part of operations that began in early September to crack down on online fraud, illegal gambling and cross-border cybercrime, according to a report in Monday’s Myanma Alinn newspaper.
He published photos showing captured Starlink equipment and the soldiers said to have carried out the raid, but it is unclear exactly when they were taken.
According to the newspaper, the army found that more than 260 buildings were unregistered and seized equipment, including 30 Starlink satellite internet terminals. It was stated that 2 thousand 198 people were detained, although their nationalities were not specified.
Myanmar is notorious for hosting fraud operations responsible for defrauding people all over the world. These often involve gaining victims’ trust online through romantic tricks and fake investment pitches.
The centers are notorious for recruiting workers from other countries under false pretenses, promising them legitimate jobs, then holding them captive and forcing them into criminal activities.
Fraud operations came to international attention last week when the US and UK imposed sanctions against the alleged organizers of a major Cambodian cyber fraud ring, and its alleged ringleader was indicted by a federal court in New York.
KK Park is located on the outskirts of Myawaddy, an important trading town in Myanmar’s Kayin state, on the border with Thailand. The region is only loosely under the control of Myanmar’s military government and is also under the influence of ethnic minority militias.
The military government’s spokesman, Major General Zaw Min Tun, on Monday night accused senior leaders of the Karen National Union, an armed ethnic organization that opposes army rule, of participating in fraudulent projects in KK Park.
The claim was previously made based on allegations that a company supported by the Karen group allowed the land to be rented. But the group, which is part of the larger armed resistance movement in Myanmar’s civil war, denies any involvement in the fraud.
Starlink is part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX company and the terminals connect to its satellites. It has no licensed operations in Myanmar, but hundreds of terminals have been smuggled into the Southeast Asian country.
The company could not immediately be reached for comment Monday, but company policy prohibits “defamatory, fraudulent, obscene or deceptive conduct.”
There have been previous crackdowns on cyber fraud operations in Myanmar earlier this year and in 2023.
Under pressure from China, Thailand and Myanmar launched an operation in February to work with ethnic armed groups that govern Myanmar’s border regions to release thousands of trafficked people from scam settlements.
