Myanmar’s military forces have dismantled a significant online fraud network near the Thai border, detaining over 2,000 individuals and confiscating numerous Starlink satellite internet devices, according to official state media reports.
The Myanma Alinn newspaper detailed on Monday that the military targeted KK Park, a notorious hub for cybercrime, as part of a crackdown initiated in early September aimed at curbing internet scams, illegal betting, and cross-border cyber offenses.
Published images showed the seized Starlink hardware alongside soldiers conducting the raid, though the exact timing of these photos remains unspecified.
Investigations revealed that over 260 structures within the area were operating without proper registration. Authorities confiscated various equipment, including 30 Starlink satellite internet units, and detained 2,198 people, with no details provided about their nationalities.
Myanmar has gained a reputation as a hotspot for scam operations that defraud victims worldwide, often by exploiting emotional connections through fake romantic relationships or fraudulent investment schemes.
These scam centers are also known for luring foreign workers with promises of legitimate employment, only to trap them and coerce participation in illegal activities.
International attention on such cyber fraud rings intensified recently when the US and UK imposed sanctions on the alleged leaders of a major Cambodian-based scam syndicate, with the suspected mastermind facing federal charges in New York.
KK Park is situated near Myawaddy, a key commercial town on Myanmar’s border with Thailand in Kayin state. This region is loosely governed by Myanmar’s military junta and is also influenced by ethnic minority armed groups.
Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the military regime, accused senior figures of the Karen National Union (KNU)-an ethnic armed group opposing military rule-of involvement in the fraudulent activities at KK Park.
This claim stems from allegations that a company affiliated with the Karen group leased the land used for these operations. However, the KNU, part of the broader resistance in Myanmar’s ongoing civil conflict, denies any connection to the scams.
Starlink, a satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is not officially licensed to operate in Myanmar, yet hundreds of its terminals have been illicitly brought into the country.
SpaceX has not responded to requests for comment, but its policies explicitly prohibit “defamatory, fraudulent, obscene, or deceptive” conduct.
This recent raid follows earlier efforts in 2023 and earlier this year to dismantle similar cyber fraud networks within Myanmar.
Under pressure from China, joint operations by Thailand and Myanmar in February led to the liberation of thousands of trafficked individuals from scam compounds, coordinated with ethnic armed groups controlling Myanmar’s border regions.
