In Myawaddy township Karen State, along the Thailand-Myanmar border, a notable increase in prostitution has taken place in areas around casino gambling and telecom scamming (Zhapian) businesses, local sources reported.

Chinese tycoons, owners of casinos and Zhapian enterprises in the region, often utilize traffickers to recruit women from Myawaddy and other areas of the country for sexual services, enticed by the profitable rewards of the prostitution industry, resulting in a significant number of women, primarily over the age of 20, choosing to enter this profession in Myawaddy.

“I know some friends who work as prostitutes in Myawaddy. Rich Chinese tycoons pay them well for their services. Many young girls, around my age, are involved in this work. Some women even travel from Yangon to Myawaddy for prostitution, and the Chinese wealthy individuals often arrange their trips. Typically, the fee for prostitution services is 500 THB for 45 minutes, and 8,000 THB for the entire night”, a young woman from Myawaddy told KIC.

At present, the areas witnessing a surge in prostitution include Myawaddy, Shwe Kokko, Min Lat Pan, Ingyin Myaing, Kyauk Khet, and Sonseemyaing, which are also known as Zhapian business hubs.

Individuals involved in human trafficking, facilitating connections between young women and affluent Chinese clients, also deduct a portion of the women's earnings for various reasons, as shared by a young woman who has firsthand experience.

“For instance, when we receive a service fee of 10,000 THB, we are required to give them roughly 1000 THB. They claim it is for taxes owed to certain organizations, but their procedures remain unclear to us. We are left unable to confirm the validity of their assertions, lacking insight into their processes”, she said.

Certain local ethnic women from nearby villages are also engaging in escort services and serving as unofficial wives for Chinese businessmen, alongside the prostitution industry, allowing them to make substantial sums of easy money.

"In my village, lots of girls around my age used to work at the massage parlours in Shwe Kokko. These places do not just offer massages; they also provide sex services. Because they can earn money easily, young women opt to work there. When they come back to the village, they blend in and live as if everything is normal”, a young woman from Laywaw, near Shwe Kokko said.

Major Saw Tin Win, the tactical commander of Military Region No. 2 for the Border Guard Force (BGF), addressed the reports of increased prostitution in Myawaddy by stating that the majority of individuals working in that sector are foreign women.

"We have heard about girls from mainland Myanmar being recruited into prostitution. However Chinese men are not too keen on Karen and Bamar women; they prefer Chinese and Vietnamese women”, he told KIC.

In Myawaddy, the casinos and Zhapian businesses enjoy protection from several BGF battalions based at the Shwe Kokko complex.

According to separate reports from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and Justice for Myanmar (JFM) in recent months, some BGF leaders are allegedly involved in many illegal activities beyond their security operations.

KHRG(The Karen Human Rights Group) has documented the BGF role in

killing of civilians, rape, torture, arbitrary detention, forced labour as porters, the use of human shields, forced conscription, forced displacement, extortion and land confiscation https://khrg.org/my/search/node/bgf

On May 3, BGF issued a notice to all foreign operators of telecom scamming businesses in Myawaddy township, including Shwe Kokko, ordering them to depart by the end of October.

However  as the BGF’s main source of income is derived from protection of Chinese tycoons who run Shwe Kokko casino / cyber- crime complex, this “ notice to quit,”  

appears to be only a token gesture to placate China’s pressure to end the cyber-crime racket along the Thai- Myanmar border.  

Following the notice, a few  Zhapian businesses previously situated in Myawaddy and Shwe Kokko have relocated to the outskirts or neighboring towns, either establishing new ventures or expanding their existing operations, locals said. But the key players in Shwe Kokko are operating business as usual.