The Junta and the Border Guard Force (BGF) handed over 150 Chinese nationals trafficked in KK Park, a Chinese casino town in the Mehtawthalay village, located south of Myawaddy Township on the Thailand-Myanmar border, to Thai authorities. The handover occurred on February 29th at Border Trade Bridge No. 2, with the trafficked individuals being transferred to the Mae Sot authorities by officials from the Immigration Ministry of the coup Military Council.

"Yesterday, from Mehtawthalay, three large express vehicles departed towards Bridge No. 2. The trafficked individuals were escorted by heavily armed BGF members and transported to the border. Upon arrival, they were received by Thai military and immigration officials, then they will be airlifted to China”, a source close to Myawaddy’s governing body told KIC.

These 150 individuals were trafficked and forced to work for online scamming gangs in Myawaddy, where they were coerced into engaging in fraudulent activities.

Myanmar staff, employed as computer personnel in these gangs, reported that among those handed over, only those trafficked into KK Park were included, with no foreigners forced into the scamming gangs operating in downtown Myawaddy, Shwe Kokko, and Kyauk Khet.

"In that process, only Chinese individuals who can furnish strong evidence of passports, visas, and documents will be repatriated. Citizens of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and African countries who lack such substantial evidence have been relocated to casinos in Kyauk Khet without any repatriation”, a Myanmar staff said.

Despite proclamations from Junta authorities about collaborating with Thai and Chinese authorities to combat online casinos and scamming gangs along the Thailand-Myanmar border, individuals employed in those enterprises have reported no arrests thus far.