ExclusiveInside the Chinese-run crime hubs of Myanmar that are conning the world: ‘we can kill you here’
From Shwe Kokko to KK Park, a slew of brutal criminal enterprises now dot the Moei River that forms Myanmar’s border with ThailandSurvivors, ensnared by promises of legitimate work, spoke to This Week in Asia of trafficking, torture – and being forced to defraud strangers onlineMyanmarAlastair McCreadyin Mae Sot, ThailandandAllegra Mendelsonin Mae Sot, ThailandPublished: 9:30am, 22 Jul, 2023Why you can trust SCMP
This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.
*The names of all the victims have been changed throughout and some details omitted to prevent identification.
“Run!” was the only instruction given to Filipinos Max and Jane, ending their six-month ordeal of forced online scamming in Myanmar.
A day into their freedom, sitting at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Mae Sot – the same Thai border town they were trafficked through late last year – the pair recalled their nervous final moments as a boat edged across a narrow neck of river towards safety.