KK Park (Chinese: KK園區) is a fraud factory located in Myawaddy, Myanmar. Located next to the Moei River on the Myanmar–Thailand border, the complex is a major hub of Internet fraud and human trafficking within the larger Golden Triangle region.[1]
| KK Park | |
|---|---|
| Fraud factory and human trafficking hub | |
 | |
  Location in Myanmar | |
| Coordinates | 16°38′51.2″N 98°31′14.6″E / 16.647556°N 98.520722°E |
| Location | Myawaddy, Kayin State, Myanmar |
Workers from across Southeast Asia have been coerced into performing online scams, including cryptocurrency investment, and enduring torture and unlawful imprisonment.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] A 2024 investigation by German state-owned broadcaster Deutsche Welle found that workers at KK Park are subjected to 17-hour workdays and are frequently spied on, tortured, and threatened with murder when attempting to flee the compound.[8][9]
A representative of the USIP stated that there are at least 20,000 scam workers in KK Park and a similar park in Shwe Kokko as of July 2023.[2]
The complex was constructed between 2019 and 2021, with additional construction ongoing as of 2023.[2]
The project is said to be jointly established by the Karen National Union (KNU), an ethnic armed organization that controls parts of Kayin State, and Chinese companies affiliated with triad leader Wan Kuok-koi.[8] The KNU has been under pressure over its alleged involvement in KK Park and other illegal activities, and has faced demands for the resignation of some of its senior members.[10] Former workers identified soldiers of the Myanmar Border Guard Forces as being present in the complex.[8]
The KNU has announced that it will investigate five of its members accused of having connections with KK Park, and that it will cooperate with China and Thailand to rid the border area of crime.[11][10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Karen National Union Under Pressure Over Crime Hub". Irrawaddy. February 28, 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ a b c McCready, Alastair (22 July 2023). "Inside the Chinese-run crime hubs of Myanmar that are conning the world: 'we can kill you here'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Huang, Xiaoshan (9 May 2023). "Plea for help from telephone scam victims falls on deaf ears among Chinese officials". Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ "Malaysian job scam victim tells of 'prison', beatings in Myanmar". 18 May 2022.
- ^ "6 Filipinos rescued from human trafficking syndicates in Myanmar". CNN Philippines. 16 May 2023. Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Lam, Eunice (29 Aug 2022). "HK victim tells of misery in Myanmar hellholes". The Standard. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Wong, Tesse (21 September 2022). "Cambodia scams: Lured and trapped into slavery in South East Asia". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "How Chinese mafia run a scam factory in Myanmar – DW – 01/30/2024". dw.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
- ^ "Surrounded by Fighting, a Myanmar Crime Hub Is Oddly Unscathed". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
- ^ a b McCready, Alastair; Mendelson, Allegra (July 22, 2023). "Survivors of Myanmar's Scam Mills Talk 'Torture,' Death, Organ Harvesting—and the Battle To Escape". Pulitzer Center.
- ^ McCready, Alastair; Mendelson, Allegra (July 22, 2023). "Exclusive: Inside the Chinese-Run Crime Hubs of Myanmar that Are Conning the World: 'We Can Kill You Here'".