THE military has shut down a major online scam operation near the border with Thailand, detaining more than 2,000 people and seizing dozens of Starlink satellite Internet terminals, state media reported.
According to a report in Monday’s Myanma Alinn newspaper, the army raided KK Park as part of operations starting in early September to suppress online fraud, illegal gambling and cross-border cybercrime.
Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for the military government, charged in a statement Monday night that the top leaders of the Karen National Union, an armed ethnic organisation opposed to army rule, were involved in the scam projects at KK Park.
The allegation was previously made based on claims that a company backed by the Karen group allowed the land to be leased.
However, the Karen, who are part of the larger armed resistance movement in Myanmar’s civil war, deny any involvement in the scams.
Myanma Alinn said the army ascertained that more than 260 buildings were unregistered, and seized equipment, including 30 sets of Starlink satellite Internet terminals.
It said 2,198 individuals were detained though it did not give their nationalities.
Starlink is part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX company and the terminals link to its satellites.
It does not have licensed operations in Myanmar, but at least hundreds of terminals have been smuggled in. — AP
