Myanmar, BGF troops blast KK Park building on day three

Myanmar troops and Border Guard Forces (BGF) continued their third consecutive day of operations to eradicate online scam networks at the Chinese-run KK Park project in Myawaddy, opposite Mae Ku Tha Sung Mai village in Tak’s Mae Sot district on At October 25.

Troops from BGF’s Area 2 Command and the Karen National Army (KNA) Area 2 Command, supported by Myanmar’s 22nd Light Infantry Division, detonated one explosive at a newly constructed building within the Chinese Special Economic Zone in KK Park (MU 534382) at 6.56pm, resulting in the total destruction of the structure .

The coordinated operation aims to demolish all new buildings in the southern section of the complex, believed to be part of the main scam network. The plan is to first destroy unfinished or peripheral buildings before targeting the central structures that house the core operations of the syndicates.

Myanmar’s military confirmed that the move is intended to demonstrate its determination to eliminate illegal activities and criminal networks in Myawaddy, Kayin State.

Thousands flee the conflict zone

The crackdown has triggered a mass exodus from KK Park. Around 10,000 foreign workers reportedly tried to flee the compound on October 24.

Thai officials in Mae Ramat district were alerted by the 345th Border Patrol Police Company after a group of Chinese nationals was caught illegally crossing the border. District chief Parinya Sairoj ordered joint forces, including border police, army rangers, local administrative officers, and village defence volunteers, to intercept the group in Khane Chue subdistrict.

Authorities apprehended 31 people: 29 Chinese men, one Chinese woman, and one Lao woman. They had crossed the Moei River through a natural channel at Tha Hin Si village.

According to an interpreter from Laos, the group fled KK Park on the morning of October 22 after BGF soldiers warned that the area was no longer safe. 

They spent nights sleeping in a cornfield and at a military base before paying 1,000 baht each for transport to the riverbank opposite Thailand. 

Around 6pm, they were ferried across the Moei River and instructed in Thai to hide in a cornfield until vehicles arrived, but were later found and detained by Thai officials.

The group admitted they were heading to the Golden Triangle in Laos, using Thailand as a transit route, and would each have to pay 150,000 baht to human smugglers. One Chinese man was found carrying 280,000 baht in cash, believed to cover food and travel expenses.

Thai authorities have begun screening the group as potential victims of human trafficking under the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) before pressing charges for illegal entry and forwarding them to Mae Ramat Police Station for legal proceedings.

Escalating exodus from KK Park

The Royal Thai Army’s Ratchamanu Special Task Force reported that, as of 4pm on October 25, a total of 1,243 foreigners, including Thais and Chinese nationals, had crossed from Myanmar’s KK Park into Thailand via various informal crossings in Mae Sot district. Some have entered the legal process under NRM screening, while others have been identified as human trafficking victims.