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Token arrests?
A global investigative journalism organization has revealed there may be more to the recent arrests of 356 people during a raid on the infamous Shwe Kokko scam center, KK Park, than meets the eye.
On Wednesday, Myanmar’s Ministry of Information released news of the arrests. They were executed on Tuesday by the country’s State Administration Council (SAC)-controlled governing military junta.
faced accusations of facilitating cyber scam operations”
The Organized Crime and Corruption Project, (OCCP), however, later stated that the SAC military junta has “itself faced accusations of facilitating cyber scam operations” in the past, underlining the blurred political and military lines behind the country. Myanmar has been ruled by military chief Min Aung Hlaing since a 2021 coup.
The OCCP cited Myanmar’s Deputy Information Minister Zaw Min stating that over 10,000 mobile phones were taken from the 356 arrested, and that all the detainees were foreign nationals allegedly involved in online gambling scams at KK Park.
International investigations have, however, claimed a Karen National Army (KNA) division provided security at KK Park. In May, the US Treasury designated the KNA as a “transnational criminal organization” and sanctioned three of its leaders. The KNA, formerly the Karen Border Guard Force, operates under the SAC.
Battle lines blurred
The OCCP also drew attention to Minister Zaw Min’s accusation that America “may have a deeper hidden agenda” in Myanmar. He said a special US task unit named Strike Force Burma claimed responsibility for two successful operations against scam centers in the Southeast Asian country.
no evidence of such operations on the ground.”
“As for how they conducted those operations – or whether they actually did – we do not know. There has also been no evidence of such operations on the ground,” Zaw Min explained.
He also claimed FBI agents were sent to work with Thai counterparts to take down fraud hubs in Myanmar. A combination of these two factors, the Minister said, makes his government suspect the US may have interests other than “simply focusing on combating online fraud and online gambling – as they claim.”
Amid US sanctions, Chinese and regional political pressure, Myanmar has been stepping up busts on scam centers.
All eyes on Myanmar
In September, the US Treasury sanctioned 20 firms and individuals for their involvement in scam centers, the majority from Shwe Kokko.
This came after overwhelming reports from multiple world and US-based authorities including drone images and photographs revealing scam center operations in Myanmar weren’t just flourishing, they were expanding at scale.
The SAC meanwhile arrested more than 2,000 people at KK Park in October, stating it had seized dozens of Starlink satellite internet terminals. That same month, Elon Musk’s SpaceX reacted to an investigative news report and ensuing probe from a US Congress committee to disable over 2,500 Starlink devices in Myanmar.
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