Myanmar state television broadcasts army crackdown on scam centers

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government has begun broadcasting extensive video on state television of its crackdown on online scam centers, showing buildings being bulldozed and over 1,000 foreigners detained.

Myanmar is notorious for hosting cyberscam operations that target people all over the world. They usually involve gaining a person’s confidence with romantic ploys and luring them into bogus investment schemes. The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime has estimated that such activities generate just under $40 billion in annual revenue for criminal gangs.

The unusual length and detail of the reports beginning late last week on MRTV television appear to reflect the military government’s desire to publicize its efforts after months of bad publicity and international pressure. It is already ostracized by many nations for seizing power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021 and brutally fighting opponents.

The authorities recently raided two major scam centers, KK Park and Shwe Kokko, on the outskirts of Myawaddy, a trading town on the border with Thailand.

The latest operation, which began on Nov. 18 in Shwe Kokko, resulted in the arrest of 1,746 foreigners in six days, according to a report on Monday in Myanma Alinn and other state-run newspapers.

There were other crackdowns earlier this year. Monday’s reports said a total of 12,586 foreigners have been detained since the end of January and 9,978 of them were deported to their home countries through Thailand. Some foreigners, from African nations and elsewhere, have reported being tricked into working at the centers and being blocked from leaving them.

The reports said authorities confiscated 2,893 computers, 21,750 mobile phones, 101 Starlink satellite communications devices, 21 internet routers and a large quantity of other equipment used to carry out online fraud and gambling activities at Shwe Kokko.

MRTV television has been broadcasting daily videos of security forces sweeping through buildings without resistance, as well as footage of foreign detainees in Shwe Kokko being made to squat in line.

The videos also showed buildings in KK Park, raided in mid-October, being demolished by explosives and bulldozed, with hundreds of computers crushed under a steamroller.

The military government says it began its crackdown on online scams and illegal gambling in early September. However, critics charge that the masterminds of the scam operations continue to operate in other locations.

Ethnic minority militias also exercise strong influence in the Myawaddy area. Several ethnic Karen militias are active, including the military-backed Border Guard Force, which has signed a ceasefire with the army, and the Karen National Union, which is part of the nationwide resistance fight against military rule.

The Border Guard Force has claimed credit for taking part in the crackdown, though it is widely believed to have provided protection for scam operators in the past. The military government has claimed the KNU is linked to the scam centers on the basis of reported real estate deals.

Both groups have denied involvement in the scam operations.