Powerful ethnic militia in Myanmar repatriates 1,200 Chinese suspected of involvement in cybercrime

BANGKOK (AP) — An official says that one of Myanmar’s biggest and most powerful ethnic minority militias has arrested and repatriated more than 1,200 Chinese nationals allegedly involved in criminal online scam operations. The United Wa State Army group and Chinese media said Saturday that 1,207 Chinese nationals who were arrested by the Wa state police for online fraud were handed over Wednesday to the Chinese police at the border gate in Panghsang. That’s the capital of Wa-administered territory on the border with China’s Yunnan province. Cybercrime scams have become a major issue in Asia as many of the workers employed to carry out the online scams are themselves victims of criminal gangs.