Facility where a man who escaped and later spoke to Nikkei was held
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Visual Investigation
These borderland 'prisons' have three common features
July 11, 2025
The number of scam centers in eastern Myanmar is expanding at a rapid pace. Even after a large-scale crackdown in February, construction has continued -- underscoring that criminal hubs have not been eradicated. Nikkei analyzed satellite imagery and eyewitness testimony to reveal the scale and persistence of the crisis.
A drone photograph of KK Park, one of the largest scam centers, shows the dormitory and work area where the escapee says he was detained.
Inside,
that one is like
a prison
A man from South Asia who says he was held for six months at KK Park -- one of the largest scam centers -- recounts his experience. He was forced to engage in romance scams, tricking victims into paying money by making them believe they were in a romantic relationship. He lived with seven others in a cramped room and worked 16 hours a day.
A satellite image of KK Park is shown.
Violence was commonplace. According to the South Asian man's testimony, a supervisor struck him with a boot. One other worker was dragged to a torture room and beaten so severely he could no longer stand.
A set of 16 satellite images illustrates the locations of KK Park and other suspected scam centers. The first view shows that the sites were empty lots before becoming scam center sites.
Other criminal compounds have emerged along the Myanmar-Thailand border. By cross-referencing satellite photos with official records and interviewing experts, Nikkei identified suspected scam bases in and around Myawaddy, Kayin state.
The sequence of photos transitions to images of the same locations after the compounds were constructed, highlighting the rapid pace of development that began accelerating in the second half of the 2010s.
In the second half of the 2010s, Chinese-backed companies began developing casino complexes in the region. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the casino industry, many of these facilities were converted into hubs for online fraud.
A map of the Myawaddy area in eastern Myanmar. Clusters of suspected scam centers line the border with Thailand.
The proliferation has not slowed. At least 16 suspected scam sites have been documented, and construction was ongoing at eight of them even after the crackdown earlier this year.
According to numerous reports, large numbers of foreign nationals are trafficked into these compounds and forced to perpetrate scams.
Japan has been affected. In February 2025, a Japanese high school student believed to have been held captive in Myanmar was rescued and later arrested on fraud charges.
According to Myanmar's military government, from October 2023 to June 2025, authorities deported more than 66,000 foreign nationals who had stayed in the country illegally to participate in fraud or gambling.
Satellite images of Huanya Park -- which was raided earlier this year -- show that the red roof of a massive building is nearing completion. The images are from March and May.
"All but one of the compounds seems to be operating as normal [after the crackdown]," said Eric Heintz, a global analyst at International Justice Mission, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization that supports people who have escaped scam centers.
"Prisons" with three distinct features
-
Layouts designed
for monitoring workers -
Capacities to hold
large numbers of people -
Locations along rivers
Layouts designed for monitoring workers
The first feature is a layout designed to allow for the close surveillance of workers. The expansive grounds are surrounded by fences and walls, lined with numerous structures believed to be watchtowers. Nikkei analyzed and mapped the positions of the structures by using satellite imagery and social media posts.
A video posted on the Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin shows elevated platforms towering above the surrounding walls. Satellite imagery also captured the main roofed gate on the compound's south side.
"It is quite common that the cameras are pointing inside and the wire along the wall bends inside," said Mark Bo of the nonprofit EOS Collective, which researches online scam operations. "It is not to keep people out of the compound. It is to keep people inside the compound."
Capacities to hold large numbers of people
The second defining feature is a massive scale to accommodate a large number of people. Some structures rise more than four stories high, with over 10 buildings standing side by side. Complexes of this magnitude are virtually unheard of elsewhere in the region.
The sites appear to be outfitted with a range of facilities. Nikkei geolocated video footage depicting the interior of the compound. Visible in the clips were basketball hoops, signs believed to advertise a hot pot restaurant and a noodle shop, and even a building marked "Hospital" in Chinese. "These places [are] set up with all the things that are needed to cater to basically an enclosed community," said Bo of EOS Collective, "because most people are not really allowed to come and go."
Locations along rivers
The third defining feature is a riverside setting. Boat landings adjoin the complexes, facilitating movement to and from Thailand. The Myawaddy area is notorious for illegal cross-border trading with Thailand via the river. Criminal groups are believed to bring people and supplies illegally into the scam centers via boat.
Myanmar Witness, an investigative organization, determined that the landing, seen in the upper right of the image, is directly linked to the compound. Satellite images show that the landing was developed at the same time as the compound.
Business network tied to armed groups
After the 2021 military coup, Myanmar's civil war intensified, leaving the central government unable to maintain effective control over the Myawaddy region. In many areas, armed groups of ethnic minorities have established de facto authority.
One of these groups is the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF). In May, the U.S. sanctioned BGF leader Saw Chit Thu and his family members, accusing them of facilitating scams and human trafficking. The U.K. and the European Union have also imposed sanctions on the leader and other people connected to the BGF.
When internal documents obtained by the advocacy group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) were cross-referenced against the sanctions list, two sanctioned individuals -- Saw Min Min Oo and Saw Htoo Eh Moo -- were found to be listed as officers of three companies suspected of investing in these scam centers.
BGF-affiliated individuals among company officers
Three scam centers are suspected of being linked to the three companies. These compounds share names with the companies: Yatai New City, Apolo Park, and Yulong Bay Park. According to JFM, many other sites are indirectly connected to the BGF.
Data suggests operational links among multiple compounds. Over 4.9 million location records from 11,930 mobile devices in Myanmar from Jan. 1, 2024, to May 7, 2025, were obtained and analyzed. Among the devices, five were tracked visiting all three compounds, and were also recorded at KK Park and Huanya Park -- suggesting that individuals involved in scam operations were circulating between sites.
Location data points to movements between compounds
In a response to Nikkei inquiries, a spokesperson insisted that the BGF does not allow fraud-based business operations, does not invest in fraud-related businesses, nor does it have financial stakes in any such business.
Several other armed groups are also present in the surrounding area, and reports have linked them to the scam centers.
'Modern slavery'
Criminal networks amassed such enormous profits that they were able to sustain -- and even expand -- these sprawling compounds. One man who claimed to have perpetrated scams recalled that a deep, resonant beat from a Chinese-style drum would echo through the compound each time a deposit of over $100,000 was received.
The profits are built not only on the victims of the scams but also on the suffering of the perpetrators. Many described how they were forced to work more than 12 hours a day and were subjected to electric shocks and beatings if they failed to produce results.
"We don't like to work like that," the man said with regret. "I'm a Buddhist, so I believe in karma. I don't want to steal anyone's money."
"Some people willingly participate in the scams, but many are forced to work against their will," said Ivan Franceschini, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne who studies online scam labor. "It is modern slavery."
Crime gangs expand across Southeast Asia
Scam centers are not limited to the Myanmar-Thailand border. According to an April report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), they are scattered across border regions throughout Southeast Asia. Some Myanmar-based criminal groups have relocated to countries such as Laos and Cambodia in response to intensified crackdowns.
To address cross-border crime, Japan is strengthening cooperation with local authorities. In May, 29 Japanese nationals were detained by local authorities in Poipet, northwestern Cambodia, on suspicion of involvement in a fraud scheme. The site is suspected to be an overseas base for what Japanese police call an "anonymous and fluid criminal group" -- known as a Tokuryu -- which forms and dissolves through social media networks.
According to United Nations estimates, losses from scam centers in 2023 reached up to $37 billion in East and Southeast Asia alone.
"The total revenue of the scam groups exceeds that of drug syndicates and represents one of the most lucrative operations run by global crime organizations," said Police Lt. Gen. Trairong Phiwphan, commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau. "If we step up our crackdown, the scam groups only change their fraud schemes and places of operations," he added, pointing to a need for further international cooperation in eradicating the syndicates.
Investigation methods
Nikkei analyzed satellite imagery and nighttime light data to identify areas that had seen significant development over the past decade. It then cross-referenced public records and reports, and conducted interviews with experts from NGOs and the United Nations. The investigation was narrowed down to locations that were identified as scam centers by at least two independent sources.
An additional investigation was conducted into 16 sites suspected of being scam centers. The latest satellite images were used to confirm whether construction had continued following a large-scale crackdown in February.
The location data and footage of Huanya Park, which was used as a case study, were shared with Myanmar Witness, who assisted in verifying the placement of structures.
The mobile device location data was provided by the French network analytics company nPerf. The company supplies global telecommunications data categorized by country and carrier.
Documents indicating links between armed groups and scam centers were provided by JFM. The materials were downloaded from the database of Myanmar's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). Following the coup, access to the database has been restricted, and detailed information is no longer available.
The worker who escaped from the compound was introduced by IJM on the condition of anonymity.