AFP was not able to immediately verify the claims, but locals in Myanmar and over the border in Thailand have reported hearing intermittent explosions since the Myanmar military raid began.
Experts say the junta raids are likely limited, choreographed and intentionally publicised as the military walks a tightrope trying to alleviate international pressure to crack down on scam centres without too badly denting profits.
China is a key military backer of the junta, but analysts say Beijing is increasingly irate at the rampant scams targeting and enlisting its citizens.
But cracking down too hard would erode profits enriching militias the junta relies on as key allies in the civil war which has consumed the country since it snatched power in a 2021 coup, monitors say.
Back in February a pressure campaign led by China saw about 7,000 scam workers repatriated in a highly-publicised exodus from Myanmar, while Thailand enacted a cross-border internet blockade in a bid to throttle off the fraud factories.
The military announced initial raids on KK Park on October 19 after an AFP investigation revealed centres including KK Park were expanding despite the apparent crackdown – with Starlink satellite internet receivers installed en masse to skirt the Thai web cut-off.
After the AFP investigation Starlink parent company SpaceX said it had cut signal to more than 2,500 satellite internet terminals in the vicinity of suspected Myanmar scam centres.
Source: CNA
