A Myanmar Witness investigation has confirmed that a Myanmar junta raid on the KK Park scam compound in Myawaddy Township, Karen State in October triggered a sequence of events including the mass flight of people from the area, reported explosions inside the complex, and the shutdown of more than 2,500 Starlink devices in Myanmar.

Myanmar’s junta-controlled media announced on 20 October that its troops had entered the notorious cyber-scam hub and seized 30 Starlink units. The announcement was accompanied by photos which the junta claimed were from the raid.

Those images, analysed by Myanmar Witness, show soldiers inside a compound and rows of satellite terminals reportedly confiscated from four buildings. Geolocation analysis placed several images at coordinates inside KK Park, confirming a military presence despite the limited number of devices seized.

Myanmar Witness notes that local media have speculated that the timing of the operation was intended to coincide with the late-October ASEAN Summit with the junta’s raid presented in junta-controlled media as a crackdown on transnational crime. Some outlets reported that theaction was coordinated with the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF).

In the days following the raid, videos geolocated by Myanmar Witness showed large groups of people fleeing KK Park and moving toward Myawaddy and nearby border crossings to Thailand. At the same time there were rumours of a second, larger joint operation involving Chinese officials.

Additional footage recorded from the Thai side captured a major explosion inside KK Park II on 23 October, with online reports describing multiple blasts occurring daily thereafter.

On 22 October, SpaceX Vice President Lauren Dreyer announced the shutdown of more than 2,500 Starlink devices in Myanmar due to illegal use linked to scam operations. This number of devices far outstrips the 30 units reported seized by junta troops on-site. Myanmar Witness, citing user-generated content and satellite images, suggests there were actually hundreds of Starlink devices in KK Park.

Myanmar Witness concluded that the 19 October raid was limited in scope, however subsequent explosions and movements of people from the site indicate significant disruption within what was believed to be one of Myanmar’s largest scam centres. The organisation said it continues to monitor developments in the Myawaddy area.