Myanmar Junta, Allied Militias Staging 'Fake' Cyber Scam Crackdowns, Ethnic Group Says

The Karen National Union (KNU) has accused Myanmar’s military junta and affiliated ethnic border militias of conducting superficial, staged raids on cyber scam hubs along the Thai-Myanmar border, alleging the operations are designed to deceive international observers while allowing criminal networks to relocate and expand. In a formal statement, the KNU—one of Myanmar's prominent ethnic armed organizations—refuted junta claims of a genuine crackdown in the Kyaukkhat border area. The KNU noted that a recently publicized raid actually occurred 36 miles away along the Hpalulay mountain range at a site controlled by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a junta-aligned splinter group. According to the KNU, the targeted facility was merely an extension compound built after operators relocated from high-profile scam centers like KK Park and Shwe Kokko during previous, similarly staged military operations. The Kyaukkhat region is home to the notorious Tai Chang online fraud complex, allegedly overseen by Major General Sai Kyaw Hla, a senior DKBA commander and the chairman of the group’s Central Economic Committee who is currently under U.S. sanctions for his role in transnational criminal activities. The KNU detailed a pattern in which junta forces, the DKBA, and the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) carry out symbolic raids by detaining low-level workers while protecting ringleaders. In many instances, complex infrastructure is demolished only after high-level operators, equipment, and victims have been safely evacuated to new locations. "These actions do not eliminate cyber scam operations; instead, they facilitate their expansion into other parts of Karen State and beyond," the KNU stated, adding that moving these operations further inland under militia protection poses a severe threat to local civilian security. The KNU reiterated its stance that it will not tolerate online fraud, human trafficking, or related transnational crimes within territories under its control, pledging to prosecute offenders under its administrative laws.