KK Park

KK Park
Fraud factory and human trafficking hub
KK Park is located in Myanmar
KK Park
Location in Myanmar
Coordinates16°38′51.2″N 98°31′14.6″E / 16.647556°N 98.520722°E / 16.647556; 98.520722
LocationMyawaddy, Kayin State, Myanmar

KK Park (Chinese: KK園區) is a collective name for fraud factories 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]

History

The complex was constructed between 2019 and 2021, with additional construction ongoing as of 2023.[2] Dozens of such fraud factories were compiled and reported by media.[3]

In August 2022, Myanmar military junta conducted massive sweeps targeting hundreds of internet fraud companies in Myawaddy, forcing these companies to relocate to Yangon.[4] Subsequently, the junta's Border Guard Force stronghold was attacked by militants from Karen National Union (KNU) and its affiliates. KNU is an ethnic armed organization that controls parts of Kayin State. Many KK Park scam operations were suspended during the attack.

On 7 June 2023, Thai authorities announced that they have stopped power supply to KK Park and Shwe Kokko because Myanmar military junta did not renew the power supply contract.[5] On 3 September 2023, in a joint Sino-Myanmar operation against internet fraud, a police station near KK Park was bombed by drones, causing five deaths (including the police chief) and at least 10 injured.[6]

Activities

The KK Park project is said to be jointly established by the KNU and Chinese companies affiliated with triad leader Wan Kuok-koi.[7] 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.[3] Former workers identified soldiers of the Myanmar Border Guard Forces as being present in the complex.[7]

Workers from across Southeast Asia have been coerced into performing online scams, including cryptocurrency investment, and enduring torture and unlawful imprisonment.[1][2][8][9][10][11][12] 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.[7][13] Passports and cell phones of workers were confiscated to prevent unmonitored communication with the outside world. The complex includes supermarkets, hospital, restaurants and hotels to form a closed community. Illegal organ harvesting was also reported to take place inside KK Park.[3] KK Park victims could only leave by paying a "contract termination" fee which is calculated by the inflated cost of transportation and how much money the victims earned for the scam companies. Victims often had to borrow from family members and friends to pay this fee.[3]

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 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.[14][3] The area where KK Park was built on is a focus region for Chinese government's Belt and Road Initiative, though the Chinese government later distanced itself from the complex following widespread fraud.[7]

Reactions

International communities

  • ASEAN United Nations China Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and China have committed to combat organized crime's illegal casino operations, human trafficking and fraud activities through increasing preventive measures, victim identification and protection, and improving criminal investigation and judicial coordination.[15]
  • India India: In 2023, the Indian embassy in Yangon requested Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for assistance in rescuing and repatriating Indian nationals who were trafficked into KK Park.[3] The Ministry of External Affairs tracked and identified fake job recruitment agents within India.[16]
  • Thailand Thailand: Thai government terminated power supply to KK Park and Shwe Kokko area to dampen the criminal activities in this region.[5]
  • United States United States: The US government noted in the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report that the Myanmar government did not effectively address the continued expansion of the human trafficking operation for the internet scam companies. The US government criticized the junta government that it made negligible efforts towards victim identification, protection and prevention. US government also noted that while the junta government has updated the legislation on anti-trafficking and that sentencing for the human traffickers was stringent, the law enforcement and prosecution efforts has decreased in areas that are managed by various ethnic armed organizations.[17]


See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Karen National Union Under Pressure Over Crime Hub". Irrawaddy. February 28, 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c d e f McCready, Alastair; Mendelson, Allegra (2023-07-22). "Survivors of Myanmar's Scam Mills Talk 'Torture,' Death, Organ Harvesting—and the Battle To Escape". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  4. ^ "獨家／緬甸人蛇轉據點　「新KK園區」2.0影片曝地點". 三立新闻网. Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  5. ^ a b "中资缅甸KK园区遭泰国断电". RFI - Radio France Internationale (in Simplified Chinese). 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  6. ^ "缅甸诈骗园区警局遭袭 无人机多次投弹5人惨死 | 国际". Malaysia Oriental Daily (in Simplified Chinese). 2023-09-05. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  7. ^ a b c d "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.
  8. ^ Huang, Xiaoshan (9 May 2023). "Plea for help from telephone scam victims falls on deaf ears among Chinese officials". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Malaysian job scam victim tells of 'prison', beatings in Myanmar". The Straits Times. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ Lam, Eunice (29 Aug 2022). "HK victim tells of misery in Myanmar hellholes". The Standard. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  12. ^ Wong, Tesse (21 September 2022). "Cambodia scams: Lured and trapped into slavery in South East Asia". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Surrounded by Fighting, a Myanmar Crime Hub Is Oddly Unscathed". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  14. ^ 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'". Pulitzer Center. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  15. ^ "联合国携手东盟中国 打击"卖猪仔" | 国际". Malaysia Oriental Daily (in Simplified Chinese). 2023-09-27. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  16. ^ Meenakshi, Anjana (2024-08-31). Shaji, Sukanya (ed.). "Indian nationals trapped in Myanmar's cyber scam parks await rescue". The News Minute. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  17. ^ "2024 Trafficking in Persons Report: Burma". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2024-11-22.