The Myanmar military says it has captured one of the most notorious scam compounds on the border with Thailand, as it reclaims key territory it lost in the ongoing civil war.
KK Park, south of the border town of Myawaddy, has been synonymous with online fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking for the past five years.
Thousands of people were lured to the compound with the promise of well-paid jobs and then forced to run elaborate scams, stealing billions of dollars from victims worldwide.
The military, long tainted by its links to the scam business, now claims to have taken the complex as it expands control around Myawaddy, the main trade link to Thailand.
In recent weeks the military, or junta, has pushed back insurgents in several parts of Myanmar, aiming to maximize the number of places where it can hold a planned election starting in December.
It still doesn't control large swathes of the country, which has been torn apart by conflict since a military coup in February 2021. The election has been dismissed as a sham by opposition forces who have vowed to block it in areas they hold.
KK Park began with a lease agreement in early 2020 to build an industrial park between the Karen National Union (KNU), the ethnic insurgent group controlling much of this region, and a little-known Hong Kong-listed company, Huanya International.
Researchers believe there are links between Huanya and a prominent Chinese underworld figure, Wan Kuok Koi, better known as Broken Tooth, who has since invested in other scam centers on the border.
The complex expanded rapidly, easily visible from the Thai side of the border.
People who managed to escape from it describe a brutal regime imposed on the thousands of individuals, many from African countries, who were held there and forced to work long hours, facing torture and beatings for failing to meet targets.
A statement from the junta's information ministry noted that its forces had 'cleared' KK Park, releasing more than 2,000 workers and seizing 30 Starlink satellite terminals, which were widely used by scam centers on the Thai-Myanmar border for online activities.
The statement attributed blame to the 'terrorist' KNU and volunteer defense forces, who have been engaged in conflicts with the junta since the coup, for illegally occupying the area.
The junta's claim to have shut down this infamous scam center is likely directed at its main patron, China, which has been urging Myanmar and Thailand to take action against illegal businesses operated by Chinese syndicates.
Earlier this year, thousands of Chinese workers were repatriated from scam compounds and flown back to China after Thailand limited their access to power and fuel supplies.
KK Park is only one of at least 30 similar compounds located on the border, many protected by Karen militia groups allied with the junta and still operational, with tens of thousands running scams within them.
Support from these militia groups has been crucial in assisting the military in pushing back the KNU and other resistance groups from territory captured over the past two years.
The military now controls nearly all roads linking Myawaddy to the rest of Myanmar, which was a goal set before the first stage of elections in December.
It has taken Lay Kay Kaw, a town built for the KNU with Japanese funding in 2015, a time when hopes for lasting peace in Karen State were high after a national ceasefire.
This presents a more significant blow to the KNU than the seizure of KK Park, which provided some revenue but where the financial benefits primarily accrued to pro-junta militias.
A well-placed source reported that scam operations are still ongoing at KK Park, suggesting that the military may have only gained control of a portion of the extensive complex.
It is also believed that Beijing is supplying the Myanmar military with lists of Chinese individuals it wishes to see prosecuted, explaining the recent operations at KK Park.
