The Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) has announced a crackdown following the abduction of Chinese celebrities as forced labor for scam compounds in areas under its control on the Myanmar-Thai border.
The announcement came during an emergency meeting in Karen State’s Myawaddy on Wednesday between the BGF, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), and local Chinese businessmen.
The meeting was led by BGF leader Colonel Saw Chit Thu, known for his close ties to the Myanmar junta and his oversight of gambling and scam operations in the Myawaddy border area. Also participating were DKBA commander Colonel Saw San Aung and around 60 local Chinese businesspeople, according to Thai and local media.
Saw Chit Thu announced new regulations for businesses operating in the territory under BGF jurisdiction. He told businesspeople at the meeting that they must cooperate in stamping out human trafficking, forced or child labor, and other criminal activities. Businesses that refused to comply would be closed or expelled from the region, the BGF chief warned.
Myawaddy, a key border trade hub with Thailand, is notorious as a hub for scam centers run by Chinese criminal syndicates. Shwe Kokko to the north and KK Park to the south are known as hotbeds of transnational crime, including online fraud and drug and human trafficking, with numerous reports of forced labor and torture.
The UK, US and EU have slapped sanctions on Saw Chit Thu, who runs Shwe Kokko in a joint venture with Yatai International, which is owned by She Zhijiang, a Chinese national with Cambodian citizenship who is wanted in China.
Myawaddy is under the spotlight after actor Wang Xing and a young model were among three Chinese nationals trafficked from Thailand and held in a scam compound as forced labor earlier this month. All three were released, but their kidnapping sparked rescue pleas from family members of other Chinese citizens trapped in the compounds.
Saw Chit Thu held Wednesday’s meeting after the Chinese government warned its citizens about the risks from border scammers and Thai authorities tightened monitoring of illegal border crossings.
