Thailand to Cut Power to Myanmar Border Casinos

Thailand plans to cut electricity supplies to illegal casinos along the Salween River on Myanmar’s side of the border after June 6.

According to Benar News, the decision was made after Myanmar’s Embassy requested the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) in Bangkok to switch off power supplies to Lay Kay Kaw and Shwe Kokko in Myawaddy Township, Karen State.

Shwe Kokko, just north of the Thai border town of Mae Sot, is notorious as a criminal hub for online gambling, scamming and trafficking, and under the control of the pro-junta Karen State Border Guard Force (BGF) led by Colonel Saw Chit Thu.

Around 20km south is KK Park, another hub of online scams, gambling and human trafficking, allegedly backed by leaders of Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armed organization, the Karen National Union. Myanmar’s military is also believed to share in the profits from the illicit business.

The…