Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
Junta
Myanmar
on Sunday announced the arrest of nearly 1,600 foreign nationals in the past five days, following a major operation against internet fraud hubs at the border
Thailand
.
This action is one of the most public steps taken by the Myanmar military against an online fraud network that has been growing rapidly.
Large-scale fraud factories have mushroomed in Myanmar’s conflict-torn border regions.From these locations, perpetrators target victims throughout the world with romance and business fraud worth tens of billions of dollars every year.
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For years, the Myanmar junta has been accused of allowing this illegal industry to grow.However, since February, pressure from China, the military’s most influential backer, has pushed the junta to intensify eradication efforts.
Some observers consider the additional operations carried out since last month to be nothing more than a “diversion,” to ease Beijing’s pressure without unduly disrupting profits flowing to junta-allied militia groups.
Launch
AFP
, in the latest report quoted by state media The Global New Light of Myanmar, the junta stated that “1,590 foreigners who entered illegally” were arrested in raids at the Shwe Kokko gambling and fraud center on November 18-22.
In addition, authorities confiscated 2,893 computers, 21,750 cellphones, 101 Starlink satellite receivers, 21 routers, as well as various industrial equipment used for online fraud and gambling operations.
The discovery of a large number of Starlink devices in a Myanmar fraud center was previously revealed by an AFP investigation last month.Following the report, Elon Musk’s company disabled more than 2,500 Starlink devices around locations suspected of being centers of scam operations.
State media also said that on Saturday alone 223 people were detained on suspicion of involvement in fraud and online gambling in Shwe Kokko, including 100 Chinese nationals.
Video footage from local media showed heavy equipment crushing hundreds of computer monitors as well as piles of smashed cellphones at the complex.
Since the 2021 coup sparked civil war and security chaos, fraud centers employing thousands of people, both volunteer workers and victims of human trafficking, have increasingly flourished in border areas with little supervision.
China, even though it is Myanmar’s main military ally, is said to be increasingly furious because many of its citizens have been targeted by this fraud network.According to a UN report, fraud victims in Southeast and East Asia alone lost up to US$37 billion or the equivalent of IDR 616.8 trillion in 2023, and global losses are estimated to be much greater.
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