Myanmar calls on countries to take back citizens held in crackdown on scam centers

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military regime appealed to the international community on Sunday to take back hundreds of foreigners who have been detained in a crackdown on scam centers in the country’s eastern Kayin state near the Thai border.

In recent months, the authorities have raided two major scam centers, KK Park and Shwe Kokko, on the outskirts of Myawaddy, a trading town on the border with Thailand. The operations resulted in the detention of thousands of foreign nationals.

Col. Min Thu Kyaw, who led the crackdown operations, said authorities were struggling to manage the detainees.

“They are different nationals, who have different religions, morals and personalities,” he said. “We want the international community to come and call them quickly. It would be more convenient if they call them back as soon as possible.”

On Sunday, Maj-Gen Aung Kyaw Kyaw, deputy minister for Home Affairs, told a press conference in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, that 13,272 foreigners from 47 countries had been detained since the start of the crackdown in January. While most have been deported, 1,655 are still in detention, he said.

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.

Col. Min Thu Kyaw, the minister for the security and border affairs of Kayin state government, said most of the 1,655 people awaiting deportation are being held at town’s sport facilities, as well as in buildings controlled by the Kayin Border Guard Force and repurposed scam compounds.

The largest number of the remaining detainees awaiting deportation are Chinese nationals, with more than 500 people. They rest comprises groups of between 100 and 300 people each from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Kenya and India, he said.

The minister said most delayed returns involve foreigners from African countries that do not have embassies in Myanmar or Thailand, and that has slowed the deportation process to as long as five months.

State-run MRTV television has recently broadcast footage of security operations at scam centers near Myawaddy, including videos and photos showing buildings being demolished with explosives and bulldozers.

The military government has said it began its latest 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.