The United Wa State Army (UWSA) is providing protection for a scam centre that recently set up in a remote area of Tangyan Township, shortly after UWSA troops moved into the township.

The scamming gangs (known as Zhapian by Burmese people) have set up a scam centre near Panglawng Village in Nawnglai Village Tract, Tangyan Township, about three hours west of Tangyan Town, by motorcycle.

A local woman of about 25 years of age told Shan Herald that UWSA Brigades 318 and 713 are providing security for the scamming gangs.

She said: “Travelling from Tangyan Town to Panglawng Village and back can be done in one day. By motorcycle, the one-way trip takes about three hours. After passing Manpang and travelling a short distance further, you will arrive at Panglawng Village, which is located on the Tangyan to Nawnglai to Loimaw Road. In the past, the Manpang [Militia], a local militia group, primarily controlled this area. However, Wa [UWSA] troops have now taken over security there.”

Rubber plantation areas along the Thanlwin (Salween) River near Panglawng Village, previously owned by the junta-aligned Manpang militia group have been cleared with large machinery and are now being used for scamming operations, according to a military and political analyst from Tangyan Township who spoke to Shan Herald.

He said: "The plantations formerly owned by the militia group have been levelled with bulldozers, and casinos [scam centres] have been established in their place. The Wa [UWSA] has authorised casino operations [scam centres]along the Thanlwin River. These areas are heavily forested, making them difficult for most people to access.”

The gangs running scam centres ran them alongside casinos on the border and Burmese often refer to their businesses as casinos and use the term interchangeably with Zhapian, though in this case it is likely that the gangs are just building scam centres. Panglawng Village would be too remote and far from the border for Chinese gamblers, the main clients of the casinos on the border, to travel to. Most border crossings to China are also currently closed.

The scam gangs are also recruiting young people in their 20s from nearby villages to work in the scamming business or as support staff for the scammers doing jobs such as cook, according to the aforementioned woman.

She said: Last week, even some of my friends and I received job offers from them [the scam gangs]. Since they operate around Panglawng, they only recruit young people from that area. They don’t even recruit residents of downtown Tangyan. The recruiting process is done very covertly.”

Locals allege that the scam gangs are exploiting the local job shortage caused by fighting and luring young people to work for them by offering high salaries. The woman said that the scam gangs were looking for cooks and offering a basic monthly salary of around 10,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately 9 million MMK at current rates), far more than a cook would normally be paid in that area.

She also said that the scamming gangs are trying to suppress any information about their new scamming centres in Tangyan Township being released and some individuals who have posted online about the new scam centres have been arrested by the junta.

The woman warned that the scam operations are linked to criminal gangs who could be life-threatening to anyone who becomes involved with them.

Previously, many scam gangs were located in border areas of northern Shan State next to China. But, when the Three Brotherhood Alliance launched 'Operation 1027' in October 2023, in northern Shan State, one of its objectives was the complete eradication of scam gangs. 

Following crackdowns many of the scam gangs left the area, but the Three Brotherhood Alliance failed to eliminate them and many just relocated from the China border areas to territory in southern Shan State held by the junta or junta-aligned militias.

Previously scam centres were on borders, often sharing space with casinos, but now, for the first time they seem to be locating themselves inside Myanmar, away from any borders.

This new scam centre site in Tangyan Township is not the only recently set up scam center in the area.

On 8 October 2024 Shan Herald reported on a new scam centre that has been set up in near Manpang Village in Laihka Township, Loilem District, which borders Lashio District, where Tangyan Township is located.

The junta-aligned Manpang Militia may have abandoned its positions in Panglawng Village to the UWSA and the scammers they are protecting, but the militia is still operating in the area. 

It controls the area around Manpang Village and protects the new scam operations setting up there. According to reports the Manpang Militia also transports new employees to the scam centres near Manpang Village, so that those behind the scam operations need not get involved in the process.

It is not known whether the same people are behind the scam centres near Panglawng and Manpang villages. The Chinese authorities would like to see the scam centres eliminated because the majority of their victims are Chinese citizens. It is surprising to see scammers being protected by UWSA Brigades 318 and 713 as the UWSA is the ethnic armed organisation that is closest to China and relies on China for arms and support.

The junta Army and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) are also active, alongside the UWSA in Tangyan Township.