Inside Shwe Kokko: Exclusive interview with Karen BGF chief on scam crackdown

The Karen militia chief spearheading the scam crackdown on Myanmar’s border with Thailand has called for international help to care for around 7,000 call centre workers awaiting repatriation.

Saw Chit Thu told Nation TV that his Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) could not afford the 1.6-million-baht daily cost of housing the call centre workers, warning of rising stress levels and potential violent uprisings in overcrowded detention facilities. Another 20,000 individuals from scam centres are expected to be rounded up soon, the BGF said.

Nation TV visited Shwe Kokko in Myawaddy, Kayin State, where Maj Gen Saw Chit Thu, aka Maung Chit Thu, the secretary-general of the BGF, opened his private residence for an exclusive interview. 

Saw Chit Thu agreed to be interviewed to counter accusations that he is a key figure behind scam operations using trafficked call-centre staff to scam billions of dollars from victims worldwide. 

Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation is seeking an arrest warrant for the BGF chief and two of his associates.

Nation TV spent over six months arranging the interview with Saw Chit Thu, eventually being granted permission to travel to Shwe Kokko, the BGF-controlled city about an hour’s drive from the border town of Myawaddy, opposite Thailand’s Mae Sot.  

Upon arriving at his residence, Nation TV was met by Saw Chit Thu standing at the front of the house, surrounded by over 30 armed BGF soldiers.

Saw Chit Thu warmly invited Nation TV into his residence, leading the team to his office before taking on a serious tone to deliver his statement:

"Some of the news about me is not true and it has led to misunderstandings. I’ve never had the chance to explain, and even the Thai authorities have issued an arrest warrant. I want to ask, 'What have I done wrong?'"

He rejected accusations levelled by Rangsiman Rome, chair of Thailand’s House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy and National Reform, that he controls the scam operations with help from corrupt Thai border officials.

"The accusations are regrettable, considering I am continuously cooperating with Thai authorities. Where did they get information that I am involved with call-centre gangs? What law are they using? I declare, in all seriousness, that I have no involvement with the call-centre gangs – I am only a landowner leasing the space."

Saw Chit Thu also denied accusations that he had built a personal fortune worth billions of baht, stating that the money earned from leasing land in Shwe Kokko was used to build roads, schools, hospitals, hotels, buildings, and temples. He said the Myanmar government had granted the concession to build Shwe Kokko new city to the Chinese company Yatai Group.

"I am a Karen citizen who has struggled since childhood. I joined the military at a young age after being denied the opportunity to receive an education. It is not wrong to want the country to develop, for the Karen people to live better lives. But who would have thought that leasing land during the Covid pandemic would be the starting point for the call-centre gangs to extend their influence?"

Nation TV asked: "Do you acknowledge that Myawaddy is a stronghold for call-centre gangs and that you were pressured into taking action to suppress them?"

Saw Chit Thu answered that, initially, he did not even know what a call centre was. But when he learned that they were used for fraud, he said he refused to stay silent about the situation.

He pointed out that in 2024, the BGF issued a statement warning foreign nationals who were breaking the law to leave its territory.

At the time, many thought the order was a sham to boost the BGF’s reputation.

However, Saw Chit Thu emphasised that 90% of foreign nationals coming into Myawaddy did so through Thailand, both legally and illegally.

"Nowadays, everyone blames me alone. No one is taking responsibility for the issues at hand. Whatever I do, every movement I make is criticised. Even when cooperating with Thai, Myanmar, and Chinese authorities to suppress call-centre gangs, society still views it as mere image-building," he said.

The BGF chief said his forces had been cracking down on scam operations since mid-February but had been left to handle the problem alone. He called on the home countries of over 7,000 nationals awaiting repatriation to take responsibility for their citizens.

He said the BGF could no longer afford the 1.6-million-baht daily cost of housing and feeding the detainees.
The crisis was being made worse by power and water shortages affecting Myawaddy residents, he said.

Thailand cut off electricity, fuel and internet supplies to five Myanmar border areas including Myawaddy earlier this month as part of the crackdown.   

"The situation in the detention centres for these call-centre workers is becoming dire. They are overcrowded, and some individuals are starting to suffer from mental health issues, desperate to return home. Stress levels are rising, and there is growing resistance to military control. If there is an armed struggle or an uprising that spirals out of control, who will take responsibility? We estimate there are still at least 20,000 individuals at large with connections to these call-centre gangs," he warned.