China Intensifies Crackdown on Online Scams in Myanmar

Despite the heightened efforts, the crackdown appears unlikely to root out the main culprits behind the scams, which generate tens of billions of dollars annually.

China is intensifying its crackdown on online scams operated by criminal syndicates in border areas of military-ruled Myanmar, with efforts including a shootout, confession videos, and national TV broadcasts of arrests of high-profile suspects.
Despite the crackdown, the drive has been confined to a limited area and appears unlikely to root out the kingpins behind the human trafficking and other illicit activities aimed at cheating people of their savings via phone calls and online overtures.
Over the summer, China announced a series of joint operations with neighboring countries that led to thousands of people being returned to China, many of whom had been lured by the promise of high-paying jobs.
Among those arrested are a few related to some of the most powerful people in two special administrative zones close to China’s border with military-ruled Myanmar.
The crackdown has become a factor in Myanmar's conflict, with three ethnic armed groups launching a new offensive in northern Shan state against the army with the objective to defeat junta-backed forces in charge of Kokang and to vanquish cyberscammers.