BANGKOK: More than 600 people fled one of Myanmar’s most notorious scam centres and crossed into Thailand after a military raid on the compound.

Sprawling compounds where internet fraudsters target people with romance and business cons have thrived along Myanmar’s loosely governed border during its civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup.

A highly publicised crackdown starting in February saw around 7,000 workers repatriated and Thailand enact a cross-border internet blockade.

But an investigation this month revealed construction has continued apace at several compounds, while Starlink internet service receivers have been installed en masse, seeming to connect the hubs to the Elon Musk-owned satellite network.

Sawanit Suriyakul Na Ayutthaya, deputy governor of Tak province on the Myanmar border, said “677 people fled from the scam centre”, known as KK Park, across the Moei river into Thailand as of Thursday morning.

Another crowd of more than 100 people gathered on the Myanmar side of the main local border crossing to Thailand early Thursday.

A driver in the area estimated 700 people had made illegal overnight crossings.

While some scam workers are clearly trafficked into often fortified compounds, experts say others go voluntarily with hopes of earning more in the multibillion-dollar illicit industry than they can at home.

Sawanit said immigration police and the military had provided assistance “under humanitarian procedures”.

Those who crossed “will undergo screening” to determine whether they have been victims of human trafficking or if they may be prosecuted for crossing the border illegally, he said.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2025