Myanmar troops just took back border areas where massive online scam operations were running wild under armed group protection. The government dismantled over 250 buildings at KK Park alone and shipped out nearly 70,000 foreign workers from 52 countries back home. Armed militias like the KNU apparently made bank off these fraud centers by charging protection fees and leasing land to sketchy casino developers from Cambodia.
Turns out these scam compounds mushroomed after armed groups seized key highway sections and kicked government forces out of the region. The whole setup mirrored what happened in Sihanoukville when casinos turned that Cambodian city into a criminal playground. Authorities are now flattening buildings, clearing mines, and blocking river routes to stop the operations from coming back.
Foreign governments are being super slow about collecting their citizens, and Myanmar is spending millions feeding and housing detained scam workers while they wait. The US announced some task force and talked about intervention, which Myanmar is calling straight-up interference in their cleanup efforts.
Turns out these scam compounds mushroomed after armed groups seized key highway sections and kicked government forces out of the region. The whole setup mirrored what happened in Sihanoukville when casinos turned that Cambodian city into a criminal playground. Authorities are now flattening buildings, clearing mines, and blocking river routes to stop the operations from coming back.
Foreign governments are being super slow about collecting their citizens, and Myanmar is spending millions feeding and housing detained scam workers while they wait. The US announced some task force and talked about intervention, which Myanmar is calling straight-up interference in their cleanup efforts.
