Someone with a daily turnover of nearly 1.5 million reveals the Thai Myanmar border fraud hideout: employees exceeding 20000 work | Myanmar | hideout

"Just run!" After crossing the narrow Moai River by boat, Max and Jane followed the instructions and fled to the safe zone of Mekong, Thailand.

The two were lured from the Philippines to this border town with high paying jobs in December last year and January this year, respectively. They were eventually forcibly sent to Myanmar and forced to commit online fraud. During these six months, they suffered inhumane torture.

They came with a heart full of hope, but in the end, they took away a body full of scars and guilt for engaging in fraud.

【1】 Cronband Miaowaldi: "The United Nations of Scam"

"I have become a tool for deceiving people, I work for them... even if it's not my own choice," Jian told a reporter from the South China Morning Post. Max still had lingering palpitations beside him.

They were forced to work for one of the "companies" in Myawady, Karen State in eastern Myanmar, with over a dozen such companies along a 40 kilometer river bank.

Countless people have embarked on the same journey under the temptation of "high salaries", including citizens from Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, India, Kenya, as well as Chinese people. Even behind this rampant Southeast Asian and massive fraud network, Chinese people are still in control.

In Southeast Asia, Cambodia is notorious for its extensive human trafficking, forced fraud, and torture reports last year. The Philippines gained some legitimacy after rescuing more than 2700 people from online scams in June this year, while Laos is the host of large-scale fraud activities in the Golden Triangle region.

However, unlike Myanmar, these criminal activities are not under control here. Due to the ongoing impact of the 2021 coup, local paramilitary groups and criminals have colluded, leaving law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, and the media at a loss.

The South China Morning Post interviewed 18 former and current online fraudsters from 7 countries in July this year, all of whom were scammed into Myawathi, Karen State, Myanmar. Inside, they can only comply with fraudulent activities and suffer physical and mental abuse, unable to escape.

This is the "fraudulent United Nations," said Jason Thor, the conflict monitoring country director of the United States Institute for Peace in Myanmar. "These fraudsters are being trafficked as forced labor from different countries."

Just like Jane, she came to work for Amazon in Thailand and eventually crossed the Thai Myanmar border and was sent to a scam park in Myanmar.

Cars smuggled along the banks of the Moai River.

Geraldine Ansat, head of the International Organization for Migration's delegation to Thailand, said that since mid-2022, Thailand has received "a large number" of potential human trafficking referrals, and they speculate that these are "just the tip of the iceberg."

【2】 The rapidly developing KK park: transforming from wasteland to a "fraud cage"

On an ordinary morning on the banks of the Moai River, with a truck approaching, the men put down their breakfast and unloaded their diaper boxes, chocolate wafers, and bird's nest drinks from the parked car, putting them into a boat below.

Some of the goods need to be delivered to an area across the river, where they claim to be the location of "China Online Gambling Company". Of course, this is just a superficial statement, but in reality, it is a gathering place for scams.

Three Indonesians who have been trapped here for 5 months refer to this area as the "Family Park", where approximately 2000 people engage in online fraud. They also endure physical abuse, such as running in high temperatures, being beaten and electrocuted.

"Once, 20 of us were locked in a room with only one meal a day. When they came over, they punched and kicked me, electrocuted me, and even whipped me with sticks," one of the men, Arif, recalled.

Although the "Family Garden" continues to expand, it is only a small area for many fraud centers in Miaowady.

Looking down the meandering river towards the south, the infamous KK Park comes into view. This is a massive two part architectural complex, with its wide red roof synonymous with fraud, smuggling, and torture, and even rumors of organ trafficking circulating.

The development of KK Park is extremely rapid. According to a video by Weibo blogger "Viewing the World on a 3D Map", in 2019, this place was still a wasteland, but only three years later, a park stood tall. However, the surrounding 10 kilometers are still relatively desolate except for farmland.

The blogger also divided the park into a live burial area, a burial ground, a transplant center, and a fraud den, stating that it is surrounded by high walls and has checkpoints every 100 meters guarded by armed personnel, forming a strict cage.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies, an American space technology company, show that the first phase will be completed between the end of 2019 and mid-2021. The KK II, also known as the "Dongfeng" park, started construction in April 2021 and was completed in March this year. Currently, one of the new important buildings is still under construction.

The newly constructed buildings in Dongfeng Park.

In a four story building at KK I, Jane and Max were forced to do deceptive work. They work in shifts of 12 to 14 hours in a group of up to 15 people to achieve a daily fraud target of $25000.

The two said that there are at least 300 people in their office who have been organized to search for victims or "tag" them on social media, and have those who have been scammed participate in the scam.

Jian pointed out that his team usually uses the "pig killing plate" method, which is to first cultivate trust and emotions with the victims, and then let them invest in fake projects. One day, they even scammed 200000 dollars. They are treated as working robots and will be punished if they don't make money.

【3】 The Shuigou Valley in Sheepskin: Scammer's Nest Continuously Rises

About 25 kilometers up the river is what experts believe to be a fraudulent trading ground: Shwe Kokko, a small city consisting of casinos, hotels, KTVs, and fraud zones.

The Myanmar Karen State Border Defense Army, a quasi military organization led by Su Qidu, controls the area and is nominally commanded by the Myanmar military.

Shuigou Valley was once a small village located at the bend of the Moai River. It began to develop in early 2017 when Chit Lin Myaing, operated by the Karen State Border Defense Force, and Asia Pacific International Holdings Group began collaborating to develop the Shuigou Valley Asia Pacific New City Economic Zone in the area.

By 2019, the project had far exceeded its franchise. In the subsequent publicity materials, it claimed that it planned to become an international city with a financial zone, an industrial zone and a luxury resort, and fabricated it as "a key project of actively responding to the national 'the Belt and Road' initiative and participating in the construction, development and operation of the 'China Myanmar Economic Corridor'".

However, in fact, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Asia Pacific International Holdings Group, She Zhijiang, is already problematic as he is a Cambodian Chinese. According to China Youth Network, She Zhijiang has been running private lottery platforms and online gambling websites for Chinese people in the Philippines since 2012, and has been listed as a fugitive in China.

In January 2017, She Zhijiang obtained Cambodian citizenship and changed his name to Tang Kriang Kai - "She Lunkai".

From January 2018 to February 2021, She Zhijiang and his gang recruited 330000 gamblers through the establishment of multiple online gambling websites, and obtained a total illegal income of over 150 million yuan. In the end, She Zhijiang was wanted by the International Criminal Police.

Although it is difficult to accurately determine how many people are engaged in fraud along the Moai River, it is estimated that there are at least 20000 people in Shuigou Valley and KK Park alone.

Satellite images also show that between April 2021 and March this year, the emerging "New City" project and Xinghua urban area south of Miaowadi developed rapidly. Five former victims told the South China Morning Post that they were abused and detained here for several months.

However, although "Shuigou Valley", KK Park, and Asia Pacific International City are becoming increasingly well-known, there are still some fraud dens along the river that are little-known, and only survivors or those still imprisoned inside may prove their existence.

One example is Dongmei District, originally named "Saixiggang Industrial Project", which is owned by Macau gang leader Yin Guoju.

There is also a "Gate 25" fraud center located north of Miaowadi, and its true location is unknown even to the victims involved. The 8 people who escaped stated that they also suffered severe abuse inside.

Survivors claim that many people knew it was too late when they were scammed into Myanmar. Once they arrive there, they are not protected by the law, and criminal gangs and local military institutions are the ones who control their right to life and death.

"They told us, 'We can kill you here. This is Myanmar,'" Jane recalled.

【4】 The country is taking action, and the international community is paying attention to it

Although construction along the Moai River is still ongoing, the pressure on fraud centers is increasing.

China has called on the Myanmar authorities to crack down on cybercrime in border areas, demanding that they attach great importance to the seriousness and harm of related activities, further strengthen coordination and cooperation with China, and increase efforts to crack down on related illegal activities.

Jason Thor stated that Interpol issued a global warning for the first time in 2023 regarding "fraud caused by human trafficking.".

In addition, the 2023 Human Trafficking Report of the US State Department also emphasizes that Thailand plays an increasingly important role as a transit country for human trafficking to Myanmar for "cyber fraud operations".

Thor said that the Thai authorities certainly do not want to see this bad reputation spread. At present, Thailand has shut down the electricity supply to the "Shuigou Valley" and the entire KK Park located in the Lay Kay Kaw area. Most of its border areas are provided with Internet and power services by Thai companies.

These cross-border criminal activities may be difficult to solve for a while, but I believe that with anti fraud propaganda and joint actions by various countries, the development of the situation will gradually move in a positive direction.