Military and Kokang armed group trade allegations of harbouring fugitive gang leaders wanted by China

Following the Chinese government’s issue of arrest warrants for alleged kingpins of online scam gangs, the military regime and an anti-junta ethnic armed organisation have accused each other of sheltering criminals involved in the cyber fraud operations. Pheung Daxun, current leader of the Kokang organisation Myanmar Democratic National Alliance Army, said in a New Year’s address that the military had evacuated online scam gang leaders by helicopter from the Kokang region, allegedly including former politician and Border Guard Force commander Bai Soucheng. Chinese authorities put out warrants for the arrests of Bai Soucheng, Wai San, and Lee Kyain Chan and eight other prominent public figures in the Kokang region on December 10, 2023 for suspected involvement in online scam operations. USDP lawmakers representing the Kokang region during Myanmar’s 2020 general election. All of the wanted men have held political office or high-ranking positions as members of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), Myanmar’s military proxy party, in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone (SAZ). China also issued a warrant for Ming Xuechang, a former USDP lawmaker who held Chinese citizenship. He died in December shortly after the warrant was issued, reportedly by self-inflicted gunshot. The Kokang SAZ comprises two northern Shan State townships designated for autonomous self-government by the Kokang ethnic community in Myanmar’s 2008 constitution. As part of the Brotherhood Alliance of anti-junta ethnic armed groups, the MNDAA has been fighting to take control of the Kokang SAZ, including its largest town and administrative centre Laukkai, which has become a hub for wide-reaching criminal online scam operations in recent years. According to the MNDAA leader’s remarks, the military has protected the “prominent cyber business owners” despite surrendering the operating sites of the online criminal enterprises to Chinese authorities. “It is obvious that Bai Soucheng and the other three were able to run their cyber fraud operations thus far because the coup regime was protecting them,” Pheung Daxun said. The four major criminal organisations of Laukkai, the leaders of which are all wanted by Chinese authorities. The MNDAA leader also alleged that there were 100,000 people working for the scam networks headed by the wanted men, grossing upwards of 100 million Chinese yuan per year from their crimes. He added that until the completion of Operation 1027—an anti-junta offensive campaign led by the MNDAA and allied ethnic armed groups—and the capture of the Kokang SAZ capital of Laukkai, the cyber scam gang leaders would remain under the military’s protection. “We have now seized Kutkai, most of the towns of Hseni and Mongko, and most of the historical lands that the Kokang people lost,” the MNDAA leader said, “except for the Laukkai Regional Operations Command headquarters and Nan Htin Mein Hill in the Kokang region.” MNDAA fighters have been carrying out attacks on the Laukkai Regional Operations Command headquarters since last week. The MNDAA has not commented publicly as to whether the fighting has extended to the junta forces’ Nan Htin Mein hill base. In a press statement given on December 30, Maj.-Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the military council’s official spokesperson, accused ethnic armed groups in Myanmar of sheltering Chinese citizens connected with the online scam operations. “We have received reports that the ethnic armed organisations allowed several Chinese citizens affiliated with the online fraud gangs into their territories and protected them for a price. We have already alerted the relevant authorities,” Zaw Min Tun said. Although the military council’s statement did not direct the accusations at specific armed groups or ethnic communities, the context of the accusation was the regime’s position regarding the operations of the Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the MNDAA as a member. While armed junta troops rarely ventured outside of military bases in the Kokang SAZ, armed MNDAA troops were present throughout Laukkai Township, Zaw Min Tun said. “Plainclothes MNDAA troops have occupied public and private buildings for tactical purposes and are firing on the military’s bases,” Zaw Min Tun said. “They are also using some Chinese citizens as human shields.” The Myanmar military, the MNDAA, and the Chinese government have all publicly urged Chinese citizens staying near the area of battle to evacuate. Since the beginning of last month, the MNDAA have succeeded in capturing junta outposts in the vicinity of Laukkai in quick succession, finally taking control of most of the Kokang capital by the end of the month. Videos distributed on social media showed MNDAA fighters positioned around the town, firing on the Regional Operations Command headquarters using heavy artillery. A clip purportedly showing an airstrike by a junta fighter jet on Wednesday morning has also been circulating. However, neither the MNDAA nor the military has released statements about clashes occurring on Wednesday. The MNDAA claims to have captured more than 250 military outposts and five border crossings during Operation 1027, along with large stockpiles of junta weapons and ammunition and thousands of prisoners of war.

Military and Kokang armed group trade allegations of harbouring fugitive gang leaders wanted by China

The MNDAA accused the junta of helping Bai Soucheng and alleged cyber scam gang leaders escape justice, while a junta spokesperson claimed scammers with Chinese citizenship were paying ethnic armed groups for protection

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