The military government has begun broadcasting extensive video on state television of its crackdown on online scam centres, showing buildings being bulldozed and over 1,000 foreigners detained.
Myanmar is notorious for hosting cyberscam operations that target people all over the world.
The unusual length and detail of the reports beginning late last week on MRTV television appear to reflect the military government’s desire to publicise its efforts after months of bad publicity and international pressure.
It is already ostracised by many nations for seizing power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021 and brutally fighting opponents.
The authorities recently raided two major scam centres, KK Park and Shwe Kokko, on the outskirts of Myawaddy, a trading town on the border with Thailand.
The latest operation, which began on Nov 18 in Shwe Kokko, resulted in the arrest of 1,746 foreigners in six days, according to a report on Monday in Myanma Alinn and other state-run dailies.
There were other crackdowns earlier this year. Monday’s reports said a total of 12,586 foreigners have been detained since the end of January and 9,978 of them were deported to their home countries through Thailand.
Some foreigners, from African nations and elsewhere, have reported being tricked into working at the centres and being blocked from leaving them.
MRTV television has been broadcasting daily videos of security forces sweeping through buildings without resistance, as well as footage of foreign detainees in Shwe Kokko being made to squat in line.
The videos also showed buildings in KK Park, raided in mid-October, being demolished by explosives and bulldozed, with hundreds of computers crushed under a steamroller.
The junta says it began its crackdown on online scams and illegal gambling in early September.
However, critics charge that the masterminds of the scam operations continue to operate in other locations. — AP
