Myanmar militia says ready to deport 10,000 cyber scam workers

A Myanmar ethnic militia announced on Saturday that it is preparing to deport approximately 10,000 individuals linked to cyber scam operations in its territory to Thailand. This move is part of a broader crackdown on illicit compounds that have flourished in Myanmar’s border regions.

These scam compounds, which have become a major industry in Myanmar’s borderlands, are largely staffed by foreigners who are trafficked and coerced into working in fraudulent schemes. Analysts estimate that the cyber scam industry generates billions of dollars by swindling victims worldwide.

Major Naing Maung Zaw, a spokesperson for the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), emphasized the group’s commitment to eradicating scams from their controlled areas. "We have announced our plan to eliminate all scams from our soil. We are now implementing it," he stated. According to him, the BGF has compiled a list of individuals to be deported, with plans to transfer about 10,000 people to Thailand.

The deportation process will occur gradually, with groups of 500 people being sent daily. The BGF has already handed over 61 individuals to Thai authorities via a border bridge and is preparing to transfer additional groups of mixed nationalities each day.

Thai media reported that the military task force in Thailand's Tak province has been coordinating with BGF leaders to receive around 7,000 workers from these scam compounds.

As part of the crackdown, BGF soldiers conducted patrols in workplaces at Shwe Kokko, located in Myanmar’s eastern Myawaddy township, on Friday. Shwe Kokko, a known scam compound in Karen state, stands out as a modern city amid its surrounding agricultural lands.

Cyber scam compounds operate by luring victims from around the world with false promises of high-paying jobs. Once recruited, individuals are effectively held captive and forced to engage in online fraud under the threat of severe punishment.

Authorities and militia groups in both Myanmar and Thailand have previously launched operations against these scam centers, which have also been linked to drug smuggling and illegal gambling. Raids often lead to the release and repatriation of trafficked foreigners found inside these compounds.