Myanmar’s cyberscam crackdown: just a pre-poll ‘law-and-order’ show?
Myanmar’s junta has been under pressure to raid fraud hubs by China as its citizens have been badly affected by these scammers, analysts say
Observers said the operation reflected the military’s need to project control in the face of domestic insurgency and foreign pressure, particularly from Beijing, whose citizens have been both victims and conscripts in the sprawling scam compounds operating from Myanmar’s lawless border zones.
State media The Global New Light of Myanmar reported that “1,590 foreign nationals who entered Myanmar illegally were arrested” from last Tuesday to Saturday in raids on gambling and fraud hub Shwe Kokko.
Authorities also seized 2,893 computers, 21,750 mobile phones, 101 Starlink satellite receivers, 21 routers and a large number of equipment used in the online fraud and gambling activities.