Cyber Trace service Authority together with Interpol Joint Intelligence Discovered A Scam Factory In Myanmar And Arrested Over 500 Scammers

Thousands of people have been trafficked into KK Park, a compound on the Thai-Myanmar border designed for scamming people across the globe

In KK Park, on the Myanmar-Thai border, those who refuse to scam face torture, starvation and even murder. DW investigates one of Asia's most brutal scam compounds.

Aaron couldn't believe his luck. An up-and-coming tech company in Thailand was offering him a dream job — a high salary, great benefits, and a way out of a bleak future in southern Africa.

"I was hoping to go and work overseas. And one day, I was approached," Aaron said. "I thought everything was legit — until I got to Bangkok."

At the airport, Aaron was given a warm welcome and ushered into a car with two other young men from eastern Africa.

"We were supposed to go to a hotel that is maybe 10 minutes away from the airport. But we drove in a different direction."

The driver drove for nearly eight hours before arriving in the Thai border city of Mae Sot, where Aaron and his fellows were trafficked over the Moei River and into a war-torn part of Myanmar. 

There were people with guns," he remembered. "They said we should get in the boat — and we crossed."

Myanmar: Human trafficking hub

Aaron and his fellows were trafficked into a prison-like compound called KK Park. Here, thousands of people are forced into criminality — to scam people in the United States, Europe and China. The UN estimates that more than 100,000 people are being forced to work in scam centers in Myanmar.

DW's investigative unit met with several survivors of the compound. They described widespread surveillance, torture and even weekly murders.

"We worked 17 hours a day, no complaints, no holidays, no rest," said Lucas, a young man from western Africa. "And if we say we want to leave, they tell us that they will sell us or kill us."

But who is behind this brutal operation?