According to a paywalled story published on January 21st by the South China Morning Post, Myanmar claims to have deported more than 50,000 Chinese fraudsters connected to scam factories since October 2023.

In an unusual appeal for intervention from its neighbors, Myanmar’s governing junta said on Tuesday that it has deported to China over 50,000 individuals accused of being involved in internet fraud activities since October 2023.

The revelation comes after a Chinese actor was rescued earlier this month, which sparked further inquiry.

Additionally, according to the SCMP, scam factories have been “publicly acknowledged for the first time” by state-run Myanmar media.

The article added those responsible were not Myanmar nationals or ordinary foreign civilians, but “fugitive offenders” who illegally entered Myanmar from neighbouring countries.
The junta called on its neighbours to “participate in combating online scams and online gambling”.
Thai and Chinese authorities have not responded for comment.

Of course, the governing juntas in China and Myanmar might shut down the compounds overnight, but they haven’t done so yet. Thailand seems to have been drafted instead.

Myanmar state media reports that Thai military authorities and Myanmar’s junta have reached an agreement to “jointly eradicate online gambling and online scams.“

Twelve con artists are said to have been taken into custody on or around Friday, January 17th, in connection with the Chinese actor case. This relates to Thailand’s assurances to Chinese visitors that they won’t be abducted and transported out of Myanmar.
Additionally,
A Chinese beautician in Hong Kong was detained for.

plotting to provide two persons cheap tickets to Thailand and a large incentive for carrying cash in order to entice them to Southeast Asia to commit frauds.

A Malaysian victim in Cambodia was let free when con artists discovered he was not proficient in English or computer abilities.

Xiao Fei said that a “friend” had tricked him into going to Cambodia in November by offering him a job as a private driver with a potential compensation of up to $5,000 USD. But after being brought to a fraud complex, he was subsequently found unable to work.
According to the victim, his abductor may have reprimanded him after receiving news about his absence, returned his passport, and then freed him.

However, I haven’t really witnessed a decrease in launches despite the arrests over the last year. Furthermore, I don’t think anything will change until Chinese authorities go after the leaders of the dominant organized criminal syndicates.