Myanmar security forces arrested 156 people, the large majority of them Chinese nationals, in a raid on a suspected online gambling operation in eastern Shan State, according to a state announcement carried by local media.
The raid took place at around 7 am on Friday, August 8th at a building near the Naung Lay Fish Pond Restaurant in Naung Lay village, Kapha village tract, in Kyaingtong (Kengtung) township, security forces said. Authorities said they acted on a tip-off that illegal online gambling was being run from the premises, part of a wider effort to stop operators establishing bases in the area.
Those detained comprised 140 Chinese men, four women described as Chinese, one Laotian woman, eight Myanmar men and three Myanmar women, for a total of 148 men and eight women.
The nationality breakdown underscores the continued dominance of foreign, and specifically Chinese, personnel in the online gambling and cyberfraud operations clustered along Myanmar’s eastern borders.
Security forces said they also seized a substantial haul of equipment, including 658 mobile phones, 134 all-in-one computers, 28 laptops, 15 central processing units, three wifi routers, 13 Starlink satellite units, five uninterruptible power supplies, two generators, a refrigerator and a freezer. The presence of Starlink terminals is consistent with a recurring pattern in Shan State and Karen State fraud compounds, where operators rely on satellite internet to bypass Myanmar’s unreliable power grid and state-controlled telecoms.
Authorities said those arrested would face action under existing laws once investigations are complete, and that the seized equipment would be processed according to procedure. The statement added that Myanmar is continuing to work with neighbouring countries, regional states and international organisations to eliminate online gambling and fraud operations and prevent them from taking root in the country.
The Kengtung raid follows a series of similar operations reported across Shan State and along the Thai border in recent months, including the detention of 59 people in Muse in June and continuing clearance operations in the Shwe Kokko and KK Park areas of Karen State, where authorities say they have arrested well over a thousand foreign nationals since late 2025.
