1,200 Chinese nationals arrested by Myanmar militia over alleged scam links amid rising cybercrime concerns in Asia

The arrests were carried out in territory controlled by the United Wa State Army, or UWSA, in eastern Shan state in raids on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nyi Rang, a liaison officer from the militia, said on Saturday.

‘We can kill you here’: inside the lawless Chinese-run scam hubs of Myanmar

The report said that at least 120,000 people in strife-torn Myanmar and roughly 100,000 in Cambodia “may be held in situations where they are forced to carry out online scams”.

It said the online scam centres in Myanmar are allegedly located in the towns in southeastern Kayin state along the Thai border and Kokang Self-Administered Zone, and the Wa-administered city of Mong La in Shan state on the Chinese border.

Wa liaison officer Nyi Rang said that the online fraud operations are not allowed in the territory administered by the UWSA and its political arm, the United Wa State Party, and similar arrests had been made previously.

The United Wa State Army is the biggest and strongest ethnic armed organisation among the major ethnic minority groups in Myanmar, with an army of around 30,000 well-equipped soldiers and sophisticated weaponry including heavy artillery and helicopters from China, with which it maintains close relations.

The Wa administer their territory with no interference from Myanmar’s central government in two separate enclaves in northeastern and southern parts of Shan state, the former bordering China and the other Thailand.

02:44

Myanmar junta pardons ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ex-president Win Myint after postponing polls

Myanmar junta pardons ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ex-president Win Myint after postponing polls

In July, Chinese Ambassador Chen Hai urged Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Minister Than Shwe during a meeting in the capital Naypyidaw to work together with other neighbouring countries to suppress and root out online gambling and scam centres operating in the border areas of Myanmar and rescue trapped Chinese citizens.

Chen Hai visited Naypyidaw at least three times between June and August to discuss China-Myanmar border security matters.

The UN report about Southeast Asian cybercrime said the online fraud gangs were also active in southeastern Kayin state on the Thai border.

Shwe Kokko, a small town in northern part of Kayin state’s Myawaddy township, is notorious for casino complexes that allegedly host major organised crime operations, including online scamming, gambling and human trafficking. The complexes were developed by Chinese investors in cooperation with the local Border Guard Forces, which are militias affiliated with Myanmar’s army.