Military council says only 5 buildings left to demolish for gambling operations, but gambling continues to thrive on the ground

Photo: A building, known as "Site 4," in Shwe Kokko, where gambling operations are still ongoing. While the council is demolishing buildings in an effort to crack down on online scam syndicates, locals say these operations continue to thrive on the ground. Locals say the military council's claim that only five buildings remain to be demolished is merely a "showcase of gambling crackdown." (YT) YT (July 24) In an effort to crack down on online scam syndicates, the council is demolishing buildings, but locals say these operations continue to thrive on the ground. The military council announced that only five buildings remain to be demolished for gambling operations, but locals say this is merely a "showcase of gambling crackdown." The military council announced on July 13 that out of the 77 buildings used for gambling operations in Shwe Kokko and KK Park areas, 72 have been demolished and destroyed, with only five remaining to be demolished. A local resident said that the military council is only demolishing and destroying buildings that are no longer occupied, and is turning a blind eye to currently operating businesses and buildings. "New ones are even being added. Previously, even in the deep forest where there were no people, like around Kaung Kyauk 4, new sites were being built. Guesthouses and dormitories are all full. If you look from the road and see black and green tarpaulins covering them, that's them (gambling operations)," said a resident of Shwe Kokko. An examination of job advertisements posted online for gambling operations on the Thai-Myanmar border also revealed that job postings were continuously being made until the evening of July 24. Locals say that gambling operations continue to operate in residential homes, high-rise buildings, hotels, and guesthouses in Shwe Kokko city and its surrounding areas, and that new buildings are also being constructed. Furthermore, while entry and exit for ordinary civilians into the Shwe Kokko region are strictly controlled, new gambling workers are entering daily. Similarly, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which met with the military council in Naypyidaw on July 9 and agreed to cooperate on combating online fraud, is reportedly relocating gambling operations from their controlled area of Kyauk Htet, where the regional situation is unstable, to Shwe Taung Ni in the Son Si Myaing area, which is the DKBA headquarters. "It's a place that was cleared at the beginning of the year, and now buildings are being constructed there. In Son Si Myaing, within the village, there are only gambling operations in the houses of Fu Shwe Wa and other senior officials. Around the village, it's purely gambling operations," said a resident of Son Si Myaing village. According to a source, online scam operations are not only concentrated in the traditional gambling hubs on the Karen State side of the Thai-Myanmar border, such as Shwe Kokko, 100 Acres, Thit Kote, Pharkaloo, Kyauk Htet, Son Si Myaing, and Myawaddy, but are also expanding along the route from Karen State towards Mae La. Editor: Aung Kyaw Phyo