YANGON: China and Myanmar jointly conducted a police operation that resulted in the arrest of over 800 persons who were allegedly involved in cross-border scams, the Chinese embassy in Yangon reported on Monday.
Scam compounds have proliferated in Myanmar, employing people from China and other nations who are frequently coerced into working as con artists for their fellow nationals in an industry valued at billions, according to analysts.
Beijing, a significant backer and supplier of weapons to the military in isolation in Myanmar, has repeatedly urged the armed forces to put a stop to these activities.
The embassy posted on its WeChat account that Chinese law enforcement gave advice to their Myanmar colleagues, who conducted operations in and around Muse city, a significant trading area in northern Shan state.
In a statement, Myanmar police announced that they had detained 807 persons “who committed cross-border crimes” and that they had also recovered computers, cellphones, and “fraud scripts.”
According to the announcement, 352 Chinese nationals who were detained were sent back to China on Sunday. It said the rest were citizens of Myanmar.
Regarding the raids, the junta has remained silent.
According to the UN human rights office, at least 120,000 individuals were detained in Myanmar’s prison complexes as of last year.
Many were kept in the northeastern Shan state town of Laukkai, which has subsequently been taken over by a coalition of armed ethnic minority organizations. The partnership promised to eradicate the fraudulent compounds.
Chinese official media said that over 40,000 individuals who were allegedly involved in cyber frauds in Myanmar were turned over to China in the previous year.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
