Chinese operators of telecom scams (locally known as Zhapian) in Kyondoe Town, Kawkareik Township, Karen State, have been moved to Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon State, by the junta-aligned Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) and Mon militia groups via the Kyondoe–Gyaing Road, and the Gyaing River.

While the junta intensifies its crackdown on Chinese telecom scams in Myawaddy Township, Karen State, along the Thai border, junta-aligned BGF and Mon village militias have been assisting in relocating the scam operators, a Kyondoe resident reported.

“The BGF faction led by Maung Win Aung in Kyondoe takes Chinese telecom scammers and sends them to Kawt Bein Town in Kawkareik Township through the Nyaung Yeik Thar dock in Kyondoe. Another way is by crossing the Gyaing River, where militia groups transport them by boat. Their final destination is Mawlamyine,” he told KIC.

On the night of December 9, while Mon militia groups were transporting Chinese telecom scam operators across the Gyaing River, junta troops in Kawt Bein signaled their three boats to stop for an inspection. One boat ignored the warning, prompting the troops to open fire, killing four Chinese nationals and sending their bodies downstream, according to local witnesses.

 

As the crackdown on telecom scams in Myawaddy Township intensified, operators have been fleeing to Mawlamyine, as well as to Hpa-An and Payathonzu (Three Pagodas Pass) in Karen State. A driver who transported these Chinese individuals said they were able to get through junta checkpoints along the way by bribing the troops.

“Usually, the BGF and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) cover these checkpoint fees. When I drive them, it can cost anywhere from 500,000 to 1,000,000 MMK per trip. I’ve even transported some of them all the way to Yangon,” he told KIC.

At a press conference on December 14, the junta’s spokesperson, Major General Zaw Min Tun, announced the coup regime’s vow to uproot telecom scam businesses. However, locals reported that border-based telecom scam operations have relocated to Karen and Mon states, as well as other regions, and continue to operate.

Furthermore, although the junta has declared that it will expose and take strict action against members of its ally BGF and other ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) involved in telecom scam businesses, no such action has been taken to date.

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