The pro-regime Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) announced on Monday that any armed group or individual caught transporting foreign nationals, specifically Chinese, within areas under its control in Karen State’s Three Pagodas Pass, Hlaingbwe, Kyainseikgyi, and Manerplaw townships will be arrested and prosecuted.
Residents in Myawaddy Township, along the Myanmar-Thailand border, told DVB that the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its allied People’s Defence Force (PDF) raided an alleged cyber scam center operated by the DKBA in Minletpan village on Friday. Myawaddy is located 81 miles (130 km) east of the Karen State capital Hpa-An.
A Myawaddy resident with knowledge of the incident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the KNLA attacked the DKBA-run cyber scam center with a drone. DKBA forces returned fire, which led to the KNLA and the PDF detaining 25 DKBA members and over 300 alleged cyber scam workers.
The DKBA issued an arrest warrant for Saw Kyaw Ko Min, also known as Thakhwarthee, who was allegedly in charge of the cyber scam center in Minletpan village for failure to abide by the pro-regime armed group’s “martial law” on Nov. 21.
The raid took place after the Karen National Union (KNU), the KNLA political wing, stated on Nov. 19 that it will cooperate with U.S. and Thai authorities in combating cyber scam operations along the Myanmar-Thailand border.
The U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed financial sanctions on four DKBA leaders over allegations of involvement in cyber scams on Nov. 12. The DKBA has denied all accusations.
The DKBA is a signatory of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and has met for talks with the regime an unknown number of times since the 2021 military coup.
Regime media reported that a total of 1,746 foreign nationals have been arrested since Nov. 18 at Shwe Kokko, which is 16 miles (25 km) north of Myawaddy. The military has demolished 228 out of 635 buildings at KK Park, which is five miles (8 km) south of Myawaddy.
Both Shwe Kokko and KK Park are known for hosting an unknown number of Chinese-backed cyber scam operations along the Myanmar-Thailand border. Shwe Kokko is the headquarters of the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), a pro-regime militia.
A crackdown in the area began in March when the Thai government cut all electricity to Myawaddy and four other towns on the Myanmar side of the border. The U.N. estimates that 120,000 foreign nationals have been trafficked into Myanmar to work at cyber scam operations.
