KUALA LUMPUR - Myanmar’s junta says it has detained more than 10,000 foreigners over the past nine months for allegedly entering the country illegally to take part in online scam operations, according to the South China Morning Post.

Authorities said 10,119 people were arrested as part of coordinated raids with China and Thailand, and about 9,340 have already been repatriated.

The Ministry of Information said the remainder will be sent home soon.

The campaign follows rising international calls for Myanmar’s military rulers to dismantle sprawling scam centres that have flourished in border regions.

Last month, the United States imposed sanctions on several companies in Shwe Kokko, a major scam hub accused of being run by an ethnic armed group allied with the military regime.

Junta spokesperson Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun accused the Karen National Union (KNU) of supporting criminal networks in KK Park near the Thai border, saying its leaders benefited financially by providing land and security for the complexes.

KNU foreign affairs chief Saw Taw Nee rejected the allegations.

“They have done it for years for the sake of their interests but when the international community pressures on them, they try to find a culprit and pin this on us,” he said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has warned that Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia host industrial-scale cyber-enabled fraud and scam centres run by cross-border syndicates that profit from human trafficking, money laundering and data crimes.

Myanmar troops raided KK Park last week, prompting more than 1,000 people to flee into Thailand's Tak province, where authorities have set up a special task force to screen arrivals, coordinate assistance and identify trafficking victims.

A Hongkonger who was previously trapped in a Myanmar scam compound after being lured to Thailand said some Hong Kong residents had been held at KK Park, but described the latest crackdown as limited in scope.

"The raids focused only on KK Park. There are other scam farms where operations remain normal, as work and punishment continue," she said.

She detailed how workers in these compounds are forced to defraud victims via social media, and face beatings, whippings or electric shocks if quotas are not met.

Former Hong Kong district councillor Andy Yu Tak-po, who has assisted families of victims since 2022, told the Post the raids would not end the problem.

"It is such a big and lucrative business. The crackdown might just move them from one site to another," he said.

Yu added that rescue efforts become far more complex if those involved choose to remain for higher-ranking scam roles.

"From what I understand, there are still around four Hong Kong individuals remaining there (Myanmar). They're in small groups, but each holds a significant role - such as team leader or model," he said.

Sources familiar with the networks said the junta’s operation mirrors previous actions that appeared aimed more at easing pressure from Beijing and Washington than at eliminating criminal operations.

The move coincided with the recently concluded Asean summit, where regional leaders were expected to discuss deepening scam-related concerns and face calls for stronger regional cooperation.