India Repatriates Hundreds from Myanmar 'KK Park' Cyber‑scam Hub After Military Raid

India begins mass repatriation of nationals who fled Myanmar cyber‑scam centre

India has started flying home hundreds of citizens who fled a large cyber‑scam complex in Myanmar to neighbouring Thailand after a mid‑October military raid. The site, widely known as KK Park on the outskirts of Myawaddy, has been described by authorities as a major hub for cross‑border online fraud and illegal gambling.

On Thursday an Indian Air Force transport plane departed Thailand carrying roughly 270 of the 465 Indians scheduled for repatriation; another aircraft was due to leave later the same day and the remaining evacuees were expected to return the following Monday, according to Maj. Gen. Maitree Chupreecha, commander of the Thai army’s northern Naresuan Task Force.

These evacuees are among more than 1,500 people from 28 countries who fled the Myawaddy raid and were processed in Mae Sot, the Thai border town where temporary shelters and processing facilities were established. Nationalities reported among the evacuees include Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Ethiopian and Kenyan citizens.

In March, India earlier repatriated 549 nationals after another crackdown on similar cybercrime operations along the Myanmar–Thailand border.

Scale and criminal dynamics

International agencies warn the scam industry in Southeast Asia is large and organized. In April the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that hundreds of industrial‑scale scam centres generate just under $40 billion in annual profits. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been recruited to work in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, often under false pretexts and in conditions that survivors describe as virtual slavery.

Human trafficking and forced labour
The networks behind these operations frequently rely on human trafficking: many workers were recruited with promises of legitimate jobs and then coerced or confined to operate romance scams, fraudulent investment schemes and illegal gambling platforms.

State media in military‑run Myanmar said the raid on KK Park was part of operations begun in early September to suppress cross‑border online scams and illegal gambling. Witnesses and Thai military officials have reported explosions and partial demolition of compound buildings after the raid. Independent outlets, including The Irrawaddy, have reported that organized scam operations persist in the Myawaddy area despite recent actions.

The issue has drawn international responses: the United States and Britain recently imposed sanctions targeting organisers of a major Cambodian cyber‑scam gang, and U.S. prosecutors in New York have indicted an alleged ringleader. The case has resonated in countries such as South Korea after reported deaths of people lured into working at scam centres.

What happens next: Evacuees are being medically screened, documented and coordinated for onward travel home. Governments and international organizations continue to warn about the ongoing regional risks posed by organized cyber‑scam networks and the trafficking that underpins them.