Myanmar’s military charges hundreds with breaking election law ahead of polls

Bangkok: It looked like a turning point in the global fight against scams. Myanmar’s military leadership, under growing international pressure, vowed to wipe out the industrial-scale cyberscam centres that have taken root in the country. They started by raiding and then bombing KK Park — a notorious compound that has become a symbol of impunity in the battle against one of the most lucrative criminal industries in the world.

It’s too early to say whether KK Park will be abandoned, repurposed or rebuilt over time. But even if KK Park were to close, it’s just one of around 30 scam compounds along Myanmar’s border with Thailand — one indication that the crackdown may not turn out to be as deep or long-lasting as Myanmar’s military rulers would like it to appear.

The Associated Press found that at least two scam compounds in the area continued to use Starlink to get online even after SpaceX announced it had cut off service. And there are other signs the scam industry is adapting fast: The physical damage to KK Park sent thousands of workers scattering to other scam companies in Myanmar and abroad, interviews with current and former scam centre workers show. Telegram is popping with job ads for newly displaced workers. And work has continued uninterrupted at other scam centres in Myanmar, where people trafficked from around the world still wait to be rescued. “Even if you destroy buildings, if you haven’t arrested the heads of the transnational syndicates behind this, seized their wealth and put them in jail, it’s not a real crackdown yet,” said Jay Kritiya, the coordinator of the Civil Society Network for Human Trafficking Victim Assistance. agencies