Myanmar’s military regime is making headlines once again, but this time, it’s not for the usual reasons of political unrest or conflict. Instead, the government has launched a sweeping crackdown on cyberscam centers operating near the Thai border, detaining thousands of foreign nationals and sending a resounding plea to the international community: come get your citizens.
On December 14, 2025, Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the leader of Myanmar’s military information team, stood before reporters in Yangon and didn’t mince words. He called on foreign governments to expedite the repatriation of their nationals caught up in the recent raids. "We want the international community to come and call them quickly. It would be more convenient if they call them back as soon as possible," said Col. Min Thu Kyaw, who led the crackdown operations, according to Newsday.
This request comes after months of intense law enforcement activity in Kayin state, a region notorious for cross-border crime and, more recently, as a global hub for online scam operations. The authorities focused their efforts on two major scam compounds, KK Park and Shwe Kokko, both situated on the outskirts of Myawaddy—a bustling trading town along the Thai border. The results were staggering: since January 2025, a total of 13,272 foreigners from 47 countries have been detained, with 1,655 still awaiting deportation as of mid-December, the regime reported at a recent press conference.
Myanmar’s cyberscam industry is no small-time operation. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, these criminal enterprises rake in just under $40 billion every year, with their tentacles reaching victims around the globe. The scams typically involve elaborate confidence tricks—think romance scams and bogus investment schemes—that prey on the unsuspecting and the vulnerable. The scale is hard to fathom, but the impact is painfully real.
Col. Min Thu Kyaw described the logistical headaches facing the authorities. "They are different nationals, who have different religions, morals and personalities," he explained, highlighting the challenges of managing such a diverse group of detainees. Most of those still in detention are being held in town sports facilities, buildings controlled by the Kayin Border Guard Force, or in repurposed scam compounds themselves.
The largest group among the remaining detainees are Chinese nationals—numbering more than 500—while other significant groups include between 100 and 300 people each from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Kenya, and India. The process of returning these individuals to their home countries, however, is proving anything but straightforward. The main holdup? Many of the African nations whose citizens are caught up in the dragnet don’t have embassies in Myanmar or neighboring Thailand. This bureaucratic gap means some detainees have been waiting as long as five months for deportation, according to Devdiscourse.
Myanmar’s government, for its part, is keen to show the world it’s serious about stamping out online scams and illegal gambling. State-run MRTV has aired footage of security forces demolishing buildings at the scam centers—explosives and bulldozers included. The military government says its latest crackdown began in early September and has been coordinated at the highest levels. Yet, even as the authorities tout their successes, critics argue that the masterminds behind the scams remain at large, simply moving their operations elsewhere.
The situation is further complicated by the tangled web of local power brokers and militias in Kayin state. The Myawaddy area is a patchwork of ethnic Karen militias, most notably the military-backed Border Guard Force (BGF) and the Karen National Union (KNU). The BGF has claimed credit for participating in the crackdown, but, as Newsday notes, it’s widely believed to have provided protection to scam operators in the past. The military government, meanwhile, has accused the KNU of links to the scam centers, citing reported real estate deals—though both groups have publicly denied any involvement in the illegal operations.
Managing the fallout of the crackdown is proving to be a diplomatic challenge as well as a logistical one. With more than 1,600 foreign nationals from nearly every corner of the globe still in custody, Myanmar’s call for international assistance is growing more urgent by the day. The regime’s message is clear: the sooner these detainees are repatriated, the better for all involved.
But for many foreign governments, the situation is a diplomatic minefield. Some are struggling to verify the identities of their citizens or to arrange safe passage home. Others are wary of appearing to legitimize Myanmar’s military government, which seized power in a coup in 2021 and has since faced international condemnation for its human rights record. The absence of embassies for several African countries in the region only adds to the complexity.
Meanwhile, the human cost of the cyberscam industry—and the crackdown—continues to mount. Many of the foreigners detained in the raids were reportedly lured to Myanmar with promises of legitimate employment, only to find themselves trapped in scam centers and forced to participate in criminal activities. Their stories, though often overshadowed by the larger geopolitical drama, are a sobering reminder of the exploitation at the heart of the scam industry.
Myanmar’s cyberscam crackdown has also brought renewed scrutiny to the role of ethnic militias and the murky alliances that have long characterized the country’s borderlands. The Border Guard Force, for instance, has a checkered history—sometimes working with the military, sometimes accused of turning a blind eye (or worse) to criminal enterprises. The Karen National Union, a key player in the country’s ongoing civil conflict, finds itself fending off allegations of complicity even as it continues its resistance against the central government.
As the world watches, Myanmar’s government is eager to present itself as a responsible actor in the fight against transnational crime. Yet, the lingering presence of powerful crime syndicates, the unresolved fate of thousands of detainees, and the deep-seated mistrust between the military, militias, and the international community all suggest that the road ahead will be anything but smooth.
For now, the fate of the 1,655 foreign nationals still in detention hangs in the balance. Their return home depends not just on the efficiency of bureaucrats, but on the willingness of governments to engage with Myanmar—and, perhaps, on a recognition that the fight against cyberscams is a global challenge, not just a local one.
Myanmar’s crackdown has exposed the vast, shadowy world of cross-border online crime and the tangled web of interests that sustain it. Whether this latest campaign marks a genuine turning point or just another chapter in a long-running saga remains to be seen.
