Infamous Online Fraud Center Linked with Chinese Criminal Syndicate Raided

The Myanmar military states it has taken control of one of the most well-known deception facilities on the boundary with Thailand, as it retakes crucial land surrendered in the current domestic strife.

KK Park, located south of the border town of Myawaddy, has been linked with internet scams, money laundering and human trafficking for the past five years.

Numerous individuals were lured to the complex with assurances of lucrative positions, and then compelled to run complex schemes, taking billions of dollars from targets throughout the planet.

The military, long compromised by its associations to the fraud business, now claims it has occupied the compound as it increases control around Myawaddy, the key commercial connection to Thailand.

In the past few weeks, the junta has driven back insurgents in various regions of Myanmar, aiming to maximise the number of territories where it can hold a scheduled poll, commencing in December.

It presently doesn't control extensive areas of the country, which has been divided by conflict since a military coup in February 2021.

The election has been dismissed as a fraud by opposition forces who have sworn to block it in areas they hold.

KK Park began with a lease agreement in the first part of 2020 to construct an business complex between the KNU (KNU), the rebel organization which controls much of this region, and a little-known HK publicly traded firm, Huanya International.

Investigators think there are connections between Huanya and a prominent Asian criminal personality Wan Kuok Koi, often referred to as Broken Tooth, who has subsequently invested in additional scam hubs on the frontier.

The compound grew quickly, and is readily observable from the Thai side of the frontier.

Those who were able to escape from it recount a violent regime enforced on the thousands, many from Africa-based countries, who were confined there, compelled to labor extended shifts, with torture and physical violence administered on those who failed to meet objectives.

A statement by the regime's information ministry stated its forces had "secured" KK Park, freeing over 2,000 laborers there and taking possession of 30 of Elon Musk's Starlink communication devices – widely employed by fraud facilities on the Myanmar-Thai border for online functions.

The announcement accused what it described as the "extremist" ethnic organization and local people's defence forces, which have been combating the military since the overthrow, for illegally holding the territory.

The regime's declaration to have dismantled this infamous scam hub is almost certainly targeted toward its key patron, China.

Beijing has been urging the military and the Thailand authorities to take additional measures to end the unlawful businesses managed by Chinese organizations on their border.

Earlier this year thousands of Asian employees were extracted of deception compounds and flown on special flights back to China, after Thai authorities cut access to power and energy resources.

But KK Park is only one of no fewer than 30 analogous compounds located on the border.

A large portion of these are under the guardianship of ethnic Karen armed units allied to the regime, and the majority are currently functioning, with numerous individuals managing scams inside them.

In fact, the assistance of these militia groups has been essential in enabling the junta repel the KNU and additional opposition factions from territory they captured over the recent two-year period.

The military now controls almost all of the route connecting Myawaddy to the other parts of Myanmar, a objective the regime established before it conducts the first stage of the election in December.

It has taken Lay Kay Kaw, a recent settlement founded for the KNU with Japan-based funding in 2015, a period when there had been expectations for lasting peace in Karen State following a nationwide ceasefire.

That represents a more significant blow to the KNU than the takeover of KK Park, from which it did get a certain amount of funds, but where the majority of the monetary benefits ended up with pro-junta paramilitary forces.

A well-placed source has indicated that scam activities is persisting in KK Park, and that it is likely the junta seized only part of the extensive compound.

The contact also thinks Beijing is giving the Myanmar junta lists of Chinese individuals it wants taken from the fraud compounds, and transported back to face trial in China, which may clarify why KK Park was targeted.