Myanmar rebels take control of 'pig butchering' scam city amid Chinese pressure on junta

A coalition of rebel groups in Myanmar is now in control of the city of Laukkaing - a notorious hub of online scamming operations near the border with China.
Late on Thursday, Myanmar's military government relinquished control of the city to the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which launched a surprise operation in Shan state, along the country's northern frontier, in late October.
According to the rebel group, the military has ceded control of the entire Kokang region, an area about the size of Lebanon.
Since the start of its campaign, the coalition has singled out its desire to root out the organized scamming operations that have proliferated under the watch of militias loyal to the ruling junta.
The rebel groups' focus on the thriving scam industry is likely an attempt to curry favor with China, which has grown tired of seeing its citizens targeted by so-called pig butchering scams, or in many cases themselves trafficked into the compounds to carry out scams.
Over the weekend, junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong in Naypyidaw to discuss border security and organized crime.
In August 2023, the United Nations estimated that 120,000 people had been trafficked into scamming operations in Myanmar.
Pig butchering scams typically involve a fraudster forming a relationship with a victim on social media, dating sites or messaging platforms.
On Jan. 5, Chinese state media said that 41,000 people involved in telecoms fraud in Myanmar were handed over to Chinese authorities last year.
It is unclear how many of those taken into custody were victims of trafficking.
Despite the crackdown in northern Myanmar, observers have warned that operations could simply shift to criminal enclaves elsewhere in the country, especially along the border with Thailand and Laos.
In a New Year's speech published online, Peng Deren, the commander of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army - one of the three allied rebel groups who launched the offensive - suggested that this was already happening.
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James Reddick has worked as a journalist around the world, including in Lebanon and in Cambodia, where he was Deputy Managing Editor of The Phnom Penh Post.
He is also a radio and podcast producer for outlets like Snap Judgment.


This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Mon, 08 Jan 2024 21:10:13 +0000


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