11 foreigners and 17 Myanmar nationals arrested for defrauding with gemstones online

It has been learned that 11 foreigners and 17 Myanmar nationals, who were defrauding by selling gemstones online as if they had won a lottery, have been arrested with evidence in Mandalay City. Based on information provided by responsible citizens that foreigners residing in a house located between 80th Street and 39th and 40th Streets in the Mahaaungmyay East Ward, Mahaaungmyay Township, Mandalay Region, were defrauding by selling gemstones online, a joint team including security forces raided the said house on the morning of September 2, 2026. As a result, 20 suspects, including 2 male Chinese nationals, 2 male and 2 female Indonesian nationals, 1 male Malaysian national, 6 male and 7 female Myanmar nationals, led by Chinese national Mr. Chen Xiao Dai (ချိန်ရှောင်းတိုက်), who were defrauding by selling gemstones online, were arrested along with 28 desktop computers, 3 laptop computers, 2 computer system boxes, 81 mobile phones, 3 tablets, and related accessories used in online fraud. Subsequently, on the afternoon of September 3, a raid was conducted on the house of suspect Inkhan Kha Tawm, known as "Magdalenamoom Gemstone Trading," located at the corner of 68th Street and 101st Street in Mahaaungmyay (1) Ward, Mahaaungmyay Township. During the search, 8 more suspects, including Inkhan Kha Tawm, who were accomplices in defrauding by selling gemstones online, consisting of 3 female and 1 male Myanmar nationals, and 4 male Chinese nationals, were arrested along with 498 various mobile phones, 1 tablet, 1 XL size laptop, 5 computer system boards, 1 computer monitor, 15 bracelets believed to be jade, and related accessories. Upon interrogation of the arrested suspect, Chinese national Chen Xiao Dai (ချိန်ရှောင်းတိုက်), it was revealed that he was the leader of the fraud operations and had illegally smuggled approximately 500 various mobile phones into Myanmar through the Laos border for the purpose of conducting online fraud. In a three-story building in Mahaaungmyay Township, they sold fake finished jade products and low-quality finished products. At suspect Inkhan Kha Tawm's gemstone sales shop, they put 10 stones of similar color into bags, and their team members acted as if they were conducting a lottery, selling them through live broadcasts. They would then deceive lottery winners by telling them they would receive a free bag of raw jade and that they had to pay taxes to send it, after receiving the money, they would block them. It was also revealed that the money obtained from the fraud was directly transferred to bank accounts in Indonesia and Malaysia. Suspect Inkhan Kha Tawm had opened his house as a gemstone trading shop and worked with Chinese national Chen Xiao Dai (ချိန်ရှောင်းတိုက်) to conduct online gemstone fraud. It has been learned that further actions are being taken to effectively prosecute 6 Chinese nationals, 1 Malaysian national, 4 Indonesian nationals, and 17 Myanmar nationals, totaling 28 individuals, who were defrauding by selling fake gemstones and low-quality finished products online, in accordance with the law.