Myanmar says 106 arrested in Yangon condo raid over online scams and gambling, including a China-wanted suspect

The Myanmar Ministry of Information, in a notice dated Naypyitaw, November 13 and posted on November 14, said joint security teams arrested 106 people on the night of November 12 at nine condominium units in Golden River Residence, Thaketa Township, Yangon Region, over alleged online fraud and online gambling. Among those detained, the notice said, was Chinese national Su Fu Quan, whose name appeared on a list of 43 wanted people issued with a reward by China's Ministry of Public Security and the Longjiang Public Security Bureau.

The raid took place at about 10:45 p.m. in Ward 8, on Nawarat Road in the Aung Kaung Kyaw housing estate. The notice identified the units as rooms 110, 301, 302, 306, 307, 310, 505, 509 and 510, and said they were owned by Daw Myat Zin Oo of Pyin Oo Lwin and a Chinese national identified as Mr. Huo. Those arrested, it said, included 48 Chinese men and four Chinese women, eight Vietnamese men, and 31 Myanmar men and 15 Myanmar women. Teams also seized 121 computers, five laptops, one server, 190 phones, seven Wi-Fi devices, two routers, five Myanmar passports, two Chinese passports and four KBZ bank books, according to the notice.

The ministry said questioning indicated five named groups used Kaqpo and Telegram accounts and targeted customers in China, Japan, South Korea and India. It also said some detainees used websites it identified as amazonexotic.com and falabella.com to target people in Brazil and Colombia, and that some customers were defrauded of as much as 48,000 yuan. The notice said the detainees would be dealt with under existing laws after further examination.

The Thaketa operation is separate from earlier Ministry of Information notices on arrests in Shan State, including an October hotel raid in Tachileik.