No fewer than 800 people suspected of being cross-border scammers were arrested in a joint police operation by Myanmar and China, Beijing’s embassy in Yangon said on Monday.
Illegal operations where people from China and other countries were made to deceive their fellow countrymen have grown in Myanmar, and analysts estimate the industry to be worth billions.
China, a significant ally and arms provider of Myanmar’s isolated junta, has consistently urged the military to take action against such activities.
Chinese law enforcement advised their counterparts in Myanmar, who then conducted raids in and around Muse City, a major trade center in northern Shan state, as reported by the embassy on its WeChat channel.
In a statement, Myanmar police mentioned the arrest of 807 individuals for cross-border crimes and the confiscation of computers, mobile phones, and fraud scripts.
The statement indicated that 352 Chinese citizens were among those detained and were sent to China on Sunday.
The rest were citizens of Myanmar, as stated in the announcement.
The junta has not given any response to the raids.
According to the United Nations human rights office, around 120,000 individuals were held in scam operations in Myanmar last year.
Many of them were located in Laukkai in northeastern Shan state, which has now been taken over by a coalition of armed groups belonging to ethnic minorities. The coalition stated its intention to eliminate the scam operations.
Last year, over 40,000 individuals suspected of being involved in online scams in Myanmar were handed over to China, as per Chinese state media.
AFP
