Some of the scam workers who chaotically fled KK Park in Karen State's Myawaddy Township near the Thailand border, a notorious hub for telecom scam gangs, have been taken to hotels in Hpa-An, the capital of Karen State, by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), witnesses reported.

Locals reported that IT specialists and wealthy Chinese nationals were among those sent to Hpa-An, though KIC has not been able to independently verify this.

“Many IT experts and Chinese businessmen from Myawaddy are now in Hpa-An. They’re staying at the Governor Hotel, Kan Thar Oo Hotel, and Zwegabin Park Hotel in the city. The junta troops haven’t arrested or questioned them — they only travel in BGF vehicles, and BGF is also providing security at the hotels. Those who came from Myawaddy even brought Myanmar-Chinese interpreters with them,” a Hpa-An local told KIC.

The junta raided KK Park on October 19 following growing international pressure to curb telecom scams. Since October 22, many scam workers have fled the compound amid rumors of further impending raids.

Those who fled KK Park are now temporarily sheltering in areas controlled by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), both Karen armed groups with close ties to the junta. Around 1,100 of them are currently being held in temporary detention, awaiting deportation.

“The Chinese people in Myawaddy have already fled to Hpa-An, Yangon, and Mandalay by chartering cars. Ordinary civilians didn’t dare to transport them, so armed groups close to the junta arranged the rentals. The cost of chartering a car from Myawaddy to Yangon was around 20 million kyats,” a highway bus driver in Myawaddy Town said.

Following the raid on KK Park, reports have circulated that the entire compound is now jointly controlled by the junta and the BGF. However, locals said that other telecom scam operations in the surrounding areas are still active.