Irrawaddy-Apr 24

The number of scam centers established by Chinese-led crime networks in Karen State along the Thai-Myanmar border has grown visibly since compounds on the Chinese frontier were shut down, with dozens of new centers having sprung up, according to a report by a US think-tank. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) urged the US and Thai governments to exert leadership in supporting “a strong and timely response to the situation in Karen State and its connection to the regional Chinese criminal network as a whole”. Last year, after much pressure from China, Kokang ethnic armed forces and the Myanmar junta cracked down on online scam syndicates along China’s border with Myanmar in northern Shan State. The campaign resulted in the repatriation of almost 45,000 people from the scam syndicates’ compounds on the border, including major crime bosses. While the China-initiated crackdown forced many scam centers along the border to close, it also prompted many to migrate to Karen State in southern Myanmar. The USIP report also said some of the syndicates have relocated to Laos and Cambodia, while others have regenerated in Myanmar’s eastern Shan State, around Tachileik and in the territories controlled by the United Wa State Army and the National Democratic Alliance Army (Mongla). “But the vast majority has been absorbed by criminal zones in Karen State on the Thai border, while the Karen militia forces harboring them have realigned to distance themselves from the junta to better secure their criminal empires,” it said. It warned that these developments have contributed to the escalation of the conflict on the Thai border, as “various groups in Karen now see the coup regime as more liability than protector for illicit business”. “Curiously, neither Chinese nor Thai law enforcement seem willing or able to challenge these operations, and the Karen armed groups protecting them remain openly defiant,” it adds. Read more at:https://twitter.com/IrrawaddyNews/status/1783112281968296219https://twitter.com/IrrawaddyNews/status/1783112281968296219