Myanmar’s military junta has imprisoned upwards of 10,000 foreign nationals in scam centers during the last nine months. This shocking development further underscores a growing epidemic with deep ties to both human trafficking and immigration-related fraud. The military has been intensifying its offensive against illegal clinics. This emerging industry is likely to change that, creating a future with even more obstacles for the thousands currently ensnared in forced labor.
Jason Tower, a leading scientist who has been tracking global fraud centers since 2018. He is the first to raise alarms over the very scary size of these operations. He estimates that up to 120,000 people in Myanmar may be vulnerable to these kinds of schemes. Traffickers seduce them with phony employment opportunities, then exploit them through coerced labor within these call centers.
Recent Crackdown and Its Implications
The Myanmar military’s crackdown reached a critical point with the closure of KK Park, one of the world’s most notorious scam centers. This site is located just 500 meters away from the residential housing of Mae Kut Sung Mai village. It’s closely guarded by a militia that’s indirectly accountable to the military. In an unprecedented move, the junta recently bombed multiple structures in KK Park, marking a significant moment that focused international attention on this civic space.
The military’s actions have been nothing short of dramatic. Experts think these new efforts would barely scratch the surface of a much more massive problem. On the creative nature of the military’s approach, Tower said,
“It’s the military going to its own Border Guard Forces area without police, without the intention of gathering evidence, without going through any process of indicting anyone.”
The expulsion of 10,000 detainees has rendered these operations less effective on a large scale. Tower stressed that this number is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to those committing scams, adding that,
“The reality is that this is just another iteration of political theatre. And we’ve seen constant political theatre coming out of Myanmar with respect to scam centres over the past two years.”
The Scale of Scam Operations
Today accounts of these fraud centers have cropped up across more than 40 Myanmar military compounds. Now equipped with more powerful tools and resources, these centers are shifting farther inland, outpacing federal oversight and investigative reporting. Tower commented on this shift,
“There’s also reports of scam centres moving further inland into Myanmar. No one really sees it, so there’s less attention to it.”
The outlook could not be worse for the people caught up within these enterprises. Tower estimates that some 4,000 to 5,000 people work in these scam centers right now. He further explained the size of one specific operation based along the Thailand-Myanmar border.
“If you go down into Three Pagodas Pass, you’ve got a massive scam compound in the range of 25 to 30 buildings.”
The conditions inside these centers can be described as nothing short of brutal. Traffickers exploit marginalized populations across Southeast Asia and the wider region. They attract victims with misleading prospects, ensnaring them into exploitative labor through fraudulent schemes.
Regional and International Responses
To date, more than 1,500 foreign fraud workers have broken their case and fled Thailand with impunity. The vast majority of these people are from countries such as India, China, and the Philippines. Significantly, India has repatriated 270 of their citizens who escaped from KK Park, an impressive example of the rising international trend in addressing these concerns. Even with these precautions, experts are still doubtful that we’re doing enough to fight the actual root of the issue.
Tower has been skeptical about the military’s motives for suppressing these operations so hard. He stated,
“What we’ve heard is the Myanmar military knows just how lucrative these things are, and they know that the kingpins in Cambodia had $15 billion in cryptocurrency stashed away somewhere.”
This signals a continued military intention not to demobilize operations completely. Rather, it looks like they’re only trying to get a bigger cut of the proceeds from these frauds. Tower elaborated on this dynamic,
“So … it’s trying to negotiate a bigger share of the proceeds. And in the case of KK Park, they weren’t prepared to hand over more of the proceeds to the Myanmar military. So the Myanmar military moved in.”
