FBI Launches Largest-Ever Cross-Border Telecom Fraud Operation; Myanmar Scam Parks Rebuilt Within Two Months

The United States suffered a record $21.03 billion in losses due to telecom and online fraud in 2025, the highest figure ever recorded. More than 34% of these losses originated from telecom fraud industrial parks in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand border regions. In early 2026, FBI Director Christopher Patel announced the launch of "Operation Power Cut," the first major cross-border joint law enforcement operation precisely targeting Southeast Asian telecom fraud clusters. However, as the enforcement curtain rises, the scam forces in Myawaddy, eastern Myanmar, are staging a fierce comeback. Satellite imagery reveals that just two months after the official "complete clearance" announcement, three major park zones have been rebuilt on the same site. On January 10, 2026, the Myanmar government announced the "complete demolition" of 635 fraud-related buildings in the KK Park. On July 26, 77 illegal buildings in Myawaddy were爆破. On August 12-17, authorities conducted another round of blasts on 8 fraud-related buildings and blocked 500,000 fraud-linked SIM cards. The government declared "complete zeroing out." But satellite images tell a completely different story. In June 2026, the Thitkate area on the outskirts of Myawaddy was still empty green land. By August, the same hillside was densely covered with newly constructed buildings. In just two months, from zero to an entire building complex. In late September, the Qingsong Park and Yongjingtai Park simultaneously commenced operations. From complete demolition to three parks resuming operations, it was exactly two months. The new parks are far more covert than previous ones. Qingsong Park is hidden in an abandoned quarry less than 5 kilometers from the original KK Park, with the bumpy ground completely hardened with concrete, hidden in the dense forest with no location information on regular maps. Internal photos show windows fitted with double iron bars and iron nets, with multiple patrol vehicles stationed outside. Even more shocking is Yongjingtai Park. Located on Land 5 of the Asia Pacific City in Myawaddy, it covers over 300 mu of land, riverside with glass curtain wall buildings. Inside are water worlds, badminton courts, karting tracks, artificial beaches, and even star camping sites. Externally promoted as "Mekong Riverside International Living Demonstration Zone," the park has actually become the latest haven for fraud operators who fled from various closed parks, with at least 1,500 fraud-related personnel. The person truly behind all this has also surfaced—Su Htike, a Myanmar Karen ethnic, born in 1969, nicknamed "King of Myawaddy." His resume spans thirty years: originally a commander of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which split from the Karen National Union in 1994; in 2009, his forces accepted the Myanmar government's reorganization, becoming the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), nominally incorporated but实质上 enjoying high autonomy. Over three decades, Su Htike completed his transformation from ethnic armed commander to "fraud godfather." Behind KK Park, Asia Pacific City, and now Qingsong and Yongjingtai parks, his hand is always present. Those who demolished the buildings never touched the hand that truly holds the land.