Burmese Warlords, Gangsters & A Scam Utopia

The Underworld Podcast

Episode: Burmese Warlords, Gangsters & A Scam Utopia
Date: September 9, 2025
Host(s): Danny Gold & Sean Williams

Episode Overview

This episode of The Underworld Podcast dives deep into the dystopian criminal landscape flourishing at the Myanmar-Thailand border, focusing on "Shway Koko"—a purpose-built scam city governed by a notorious Burmese warlord and a shadowy Chinese gangster. Journalists Danny Gold and Sean Williams unpack the evolution of these scam hubs, the intersecting worlds of organized crime and local warfare, and their ties to regional and global politics. They reveal how the region’s economy, civil war, and even international relations are fuelled and shaped by massive scam compounds enslaving tens of thousands, with revenues rivaling entire national economies.

KEY THEMES & DISCUSSION POINTS

1. The Abduction of Actor Wang Xing: The Personal Meets the Global

[00:59–05:22] The show opens with the true story of Wang Xing, a young Chinese actor lured into a scam on the Myanmar border, kidnapped, and forced into a scam compound. His girlfriend’s viral social media plea mobilizes the Chinese entertainment industry and draws unprecedented attention to the region’s ongoing human trafficking crisis.
- Quote:
  “But his ordeal is only just beginning. Welcome to the Underworld podcast.” — Dean Mob, [04:53]

2. What is Shway Koko? Myanmar’s ‘Scam Utopia’

[07:41–15:17] Shway Koko is described as “a bizarre city built on scams” (BBC). It has rapidly grown into a sophisticated metropolis for criminal enterprise—specifically, online scams and illegal casinos.
Scale and Impact:
- Southeast Asian cyber scamming is estimated at $44 billion/year.
- Pig butchering scams cost Americans nearly $6 billion a year—despite America being a secondary target.
- UNODC estimates 350,000 people controlled by Chinese syndicates in Cambodia alone, generating up to $75 billion—1/3 to 1/2 of Cambodia’s GDP.
- Quote:
  “A gold standard for a global scam industry that has pretty much taken over Southeast Asia... actually leading to full-blown military conflicts.” — Dean Mob, [08:44]

3. Criminal Infrastructure and Logistics

[11:46–14:29]
Richard Horsey describes Shway Koko as a city built for crime, with key infrastructure, legal impunity, and an international labor force, some willingly recruited, many trafficked.
- Quote:
  "You need someone who can present as a kind of professional, someone who's got insider tips on bit trading... Those kind of professionals have to be brought in from all around the world actually." — Richard Horsey, [13:15]

4. Myanmar’s Endless Civil War: Fuelled by Illicit Billions

[17:32–20:42]
China orchestrates Operation 1027, backing ethnic rebel groups to eradicate scam lords near its border. These interventions reshape territorial control, even altering the outcome of Myanmar's civil conflicts—all rooted in protecting resource pipelines and economic leverage.
- Quote:
  “This rebel alliance fight has done so well that they've now taken the fight to the government of Myanmar...even though both groups are sponsored by the Chinese.” — Danny Gold & Dean Mob, [17:48–18:05]

5. The Rise of Warlord Saw Chit Thu

[19:11–23:54]
Saw Chit Thu, originally an officer in the Karen National Union, becomes a kingpin after forming the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), controlling territory along the Thai border and orchestrating everything from gem smuggling to narcotics and human trafficking.
- Quote:
  “He assumes control of...the 999 Special Battalion, which even by Burmese standards is outlandishly bloodthirsty.” — Dean Mob, [22:52]

6. A Criminal Kingdom: Power, Alliances, and Betrayals

[23:54–29:34]
- The shifting allegiances of warlords, overlapping governance of ethnic militias, and the central Tatmadaw government create a landscape where criminal enterprise and military power are inseparable.

7. The Mysterious Chinese Mastermind: Shi Zhijiang

[30:23–36:15]
- Shi Zhijiang ("She"), a fugitive Chinese-Cambodian businessman, is the other architect of Shway Koko. He uses real estate, gaming, and cross-border investments to launder billions and import criminal expertise.
- Quote:
  “A legend without a story...these days, 'the status of overseas Chinese has clearly improved. People have started to respect you...because behind you is a powerful China.'" — Dean Mob quoting 2017 Chinese profile, [31:20]

8. What Life Looks Like Inside Shway Koko

[36:15–42:31]
- Shway Koko is simultaneously a city, a theme park, and a prison. Foreign workers, lured or kidnapped from all over the world, have their passports seized and are forced into 17-hour days of online romance scams, gambling, and more.
- Quote:
  “If we say we want to leave, they tell us they will sell us or kill us.” — West African survivor, [42:31]

9. International Repercussions and Criminal Diplomacy

[44:19–50:32]
- With mounting Chinese pressure after Operation 1027, Thai and Myanmar authorities attempt show raids, while the region’s warlords navigate shifting alliances. Even notorious triad boss “Broken Tooth” Wang Kwok Koi is implicated as a CCP asset.
- Quote:
  "Shwe Koko has been left marooned...unable to bring in the flow of investment and visitors it needs to keep going." — BBC article read aloud, [58:20]

10. The Breaking Point: The Wang Xing Incident Goes Viral

[50:32–54:47]
- The kidnapping and rescue of Wang Xing becomes an international scandal. Following pressure, thousands of foreign captives are dumped at the border, causing diplomatic crises as governments scramble to process and repatriate them.
- Quote:
  “So what does he do? He suddenly releases thousands of people from block compounds...a gigantic headache for Burmese and Thai authorities.” — Dean Mob, [53:07]

11. Sanctions, Starlink, and the Limits of Law

[56:13–58:20]
- US and UK sanctions are largely symbolic but put real pressure on Thailand’s banking system. Shway Koko is rumored to have switched to Starlink satellite internet to bypass Thai/Chinese cutoffs.

12. Scam Cities Fueling Border Wars

[58:20–72:02]
- The infrastructure and money from scam operations are directly linked to new military clashes between Cambodia and Thailand. Journalists Nathan Sutherland and Lindsay Kennedy explain how scam compounds now influence regional violence, creating a cyber-criminal Cold War.
- Quote:
  “...scam stuff was really at the heart of a lot of the tensions between Cambodia and Thailand well before the temple thing actually kicked off into artillery and gunfire.” — Nathan Sutherland, [66:20]

NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE MOMENTS

On the Scale of Scamming
“Illegal betting in Southeast Asia, that makes $425 billion per annum...Cambodia alone...Chinese criminal syndicates control up to 350,000 people and generate up to $75 billion annual revenue.” — Dean Mob, [09:40]
On the City’s Duality
"Fake lake, six-story Chinese hotel...if you’d blinked you could have believed you were in China...loads and loads of six-story gray concrete buildings with high fences, razor wire on the inside keeping people from getting out, not from getting in." — Richard Horsey, [33:50]
On Human Suffering
"People there work 17 hour days. No rests, no day off, and no ability to leave the compound...if we say we want to leave, they tell us they will sell us or kill us." — Dean Mob, quoting witness, [42:31]
On Political Manipulation
"The Tatmadaw realizes it needs to show Beijing it’s at least doing something...it closes down a handful of compounds, basically saying, please, Daddy, I’m doing something, don’t be mad at me." — Dean Mob, [44:19]
On Criminal Leverage
"So it was an implicit threat to Thailand: you want to play hardball, how would you like 100,000 or 30,000 foreign nationals suddenly dumped in Mesot?" — Richard Horsey, [54:47]
On Persistent Corruption
"As welcome as the US sanctions...may be, it is still too early to predict his demise. A survivor with multiple fingers in multiple dirty pies...to ensure his exposure over scam centers is a temporary setback, a kind of gangland market correction." — New York Times quote read aloud, [59:00]
On Scams and International Conflict
"What was like really amazing to watch...when the guns started firing...the Thais fired into a place...the only thing that is there is a huge scam compound." — Sean Williams & Nathan Sutherland, [69:20]

IMPORTANT SEGMENTS & TIMESTAMPS

[00:59–05:22] — The kidnapping and disappearance of Wang Xing, a pivotal story encapsulating the human toll.
[11:46–14:29] — Richard Horsey details the operations and unique structural advantages of Shway Koko.
[33:50–36:15] — Tour of Shway Koko; surreal juxtaposition of theme park, hotels, and scam compounds.
[50:32–54:47] — The rescue of Wang Xing; diplomatic fallout and the sudden release of thousands of enslaved scam workers.
[58:20–59:00] — The latest developments: US and UK sanctions, scam city adaptation, and the ongoing resilience of the criminal empire.
[66:20–72:02] — Nathan Sutherland and Lindsay Kennedy on how scam centers are now at the heart of border conflict and national animosities.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

The podcast ends by weaving the personal plight of individuals like Wang Xing into a vast, interconnected web of regional crime, politics, and international tension. The hosts underscore how Shway Koko's saga is not an isolated outlier, but symptomatic of Southeast Asia's new underworld—where warlords, criminal entrepreneurs, and despots exploit lawless zones for unimaginable wealth, with consequences that now ripple through the highest echelons of geopolitics.

Quote:
“That is the tale of how the criminal romance between a bloodthirsty warlord and a Chinese scam kingpin flourished into one of the global underworld’s true success stories...and helps stoke an actual international conflict. It’s pretty crazy stuff, but if you listen to our other Myanmar shows, I guess Shway Koko’s just pretty par for the pulse.” — Dean Mob, [72:02]

Summary prepared by The Underworld Podcast Summarizer.

The Underworld Podcast

Episode: Burmese Warlords, Gangsters & A Scam Utopia
Date: September 9, 2025
Host(s): Danny Gold & Sean Williams

Episode Overview

KEY THEMES & DISCUSSION POINTS

1. The Abduction of Actor Wang Xing: The Personal Meets the Global

[00:59–05:22] The show opens with the true story of Wang Xing, a young Chinese actor lured into a scam on the Myanmar border, kidnapped, and forced into a scam compound. His girlfriend’s viral social media plea mobilizes the Chinese entertainment industry and draws unprecedented attention to the region’s ongoing human trafficking crisis.
- Quote:
  “But his ordeal is only just beginning. Welcome to the Underworld podcast.” — Dean Mob, [04:53]

2. What is Shway Koko? Myanmar’s ‘Scam Utopia’

[07:41–15:17] Shway Koko is described as “a bizarre city built on scams” (BBC). It has rapidly grown into a sophisticated metropolis for criminal enterprise—specifically, online scams and illegal casinos.
Scale and Impact:
- Southeast Asian cyber scamming is estimated at $44 billion/year.
- Pig butchering scams cost Americans nearly $6 billion a year—despite America being a secondary target.
- UNODC estimates 350,000 people controlled by Chinese syndicates in Cambodia alone, generating up to $75 billion—1/3 to 1/2 of Cambodia’s GDP.
- Quote:
  “A gold standard for a global scam industry that has pretty much taken over Southeast Asia... actually leading to full-blown military conflicts.” — Dean Mob, [08:44]

3. Criminal Infrastructure and Logistics

[11:46–14:29]
Richard Horsey describes Shway Koko as a city built for crime, with key infrastructure, legal impunity, and an international labor force, some willingly recruited, many trafficked.
- Quote:
  "You need someone who can present as a kind of professional, someone who's got insider tips on bit trading... Those kind of professionals have to be brought in from all around the world actually." — Richard Horsey, [13:15]

4. Myanmar’s Endless Civil War: Fuelled by Illicit Billions

[17:32–20:42]
China orchestrates Operation 1027, backing ethnic rebel groups to eradicate scam lords near its border. These interventions reshape territorial control, even altering the outcome of Myanmar's civil conflicts—all rooted in protecting resource pipelines and economic leverage.
- Quote:
  “This rebel alliance fight has done so well that they've now taken the fight to the government of Myanmar...even though both groups are sponsored by the Chinese.” — Danny Gold & Dean Mob, [17:48–18:05]

5. The Rise of Warlord Saw Chit Thu

[19:11–23:54]
Saw Chit Thu, originally an officer in the Karen National Union, becomes a kingpin after forming the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), controlling territory along the Thai border and orchestrating everything from gem smuggling to narcotics and human trafficking.
- Quote:
  “He assumes control of...the 999 Special Battalion, which even by Burmese standards is outlandishly bloodthirsty.” — Dean Mob, [22:52]

6. A Criminal Kingdom: Power, Alliances, and Betrayals

[23:54–29:34]
- The shifting allegiances of warlords, overlapping governance of ethnic militias, and the central Tatmadaw government create a landscape where criminal enterprise and military power are inseparable.

7. The Mysterious Chinese Mastermind: Shi Zhijiang

[30:23–36:15]
- Shi Zhijiang ("She"), a fugitive Chinese-Cambodian businessman, is the other architect of Shway Koko. He uses real estate, gaming, and cross-border investments to launder billions and import criminal expertise.
- Quote:
  “A legend without a story...these days, 'the status of overseas Chinese has clearly improved. People have started to respect you...because behind you is a powerful China.'" — Dean Mob quoting 2017 Chinese profile, [31:20]

8. What Life Looks Like Inside Shway Koko

[36:15–42:31]
- Shway Koko is simultaneously a city, a theme park, and a prison. Foreign workers, lured or kidnapped from all over the world, have their passports seized and are forced into 17-hour days of online romance scams, gambling, and more.
- Quote:
  “If we say we want to leave, they tell us they will sell us or kill us.” — West African survivor, [42:31]

9. International Repercussions and Criminal Diplomacy

[44:19–50:32]
- With mounting Chinese pressure after Operation 1027, Thai and Myanmar authorities attempt show raids, while the region’s warlords navigate shifting alliances. Even notorious triad boss “Broken Tooth” Wang Kwok Koi is implicated as a CCP asset.
- Quote:
  "Shwe Koko has been left marooned...unable to bring in the flow of investment and visitors it needs to keep going." — BBC article read aloud, [58:20]

10. The Breaking Point: The Wang Xing Incident Goes Viral

[50:32–54:47]
- The kidnapping and rescue of Wang Xing becomes an international scandal. Following pressure, thousands of foreign captives are dumped at the border, causing diplomatic crises as governments scramble to process and repatriate them.
- Quote:
  “So what does he do? He suddenly releases thousands of people from block compounds...a gigantic headache for Burmese and Thai authorities.” — Dean Mob, [53:07]

11. Sanctions, Starlink, and the Limits of Law

[56:13–58:20]
- US and UK sanctions are largely symbolic but put real pressure on Thailand’s banking system. Shway Koko is rumored to have switched to Starlink satellite internet to bypass Thai/Chinese cutoffs.

12. Scam Cities Fueling Border Wars

[58:20–72:02]
- The infrastructure and money from scam operations are directly linked to new military clashes between Cambodia and Thailand. Journalists Nathan Sutherland and Lindsay Kennedy explain how scam compounds now influence regional violence, creating a cyber-criminal Cold War.
- Quote:
  “...scam stuff was really at the heart of a lot of the tensions between Cambodia and Thailand well before the temple thing actually kicked off into artillery and gunfire.” — Nathan Sutherland, [66:20]

NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE MOMENTS

On the Scale of Scamming
“Illegal betting in Southeast Asia, that makes $425 billion per annum...Cambodia alone...Chinese criminal syndicates control up to 350,000 people and generate up to $75 billion annual revenue.” — Dean Mob, [09:40]
On the City’s Duality
"Fake lake, six-story Chinese hotel...if you’d blinked you could have believed you were in China...loads and loads of six-story gray concrete buildings with high fences, razor wire on the inside keeping people from getting out, not from getting in." — Richard Horsey, [33:50]
On Human Suffering
"People there work 17 hour days. No rests, no day off, and no ability to leave the compound...if we say we want to leave, they tell us they will sell us or kill us." — Dean Mob, quoting witness, [42:31]
On Political Manipulation
"The Tatmadaw realizes it needs to show Beijing it’s at least doing something...it closes down a handful of compounds, basically saying, please, Daddy, I’m doing something, don’t be mad at me." — Dean Mob, [44:19]
On Criminal Leverage
"So it was an implicit threat to Thailand: you want to play hardball, how would you like 100,000 or 30,000 foreign nationals suddenly dumped in Mesot?" — Richard Horsey, [54:47]
On Persistent Corruption
"As welcome as the US sanctions...may be, it is still too early to predict his demise. A survivor with multiple fingers in multiple dirty pies...to ensure his exposure over scam centers is a temporary setback, a kind of gangland market correction." — New York Times quote read aloud, [59:00]
On Scams and International Conflict
"What was like really amazing to watch...when the guns started firing...the Thais fired into a place...the only thing that is there is a huge scam compound." — Sean Williams & Nathan Sutherland, [69:20]

IMPORTANT SEGMENTS & TIMESTAMPS

[00:59–05:22] — The kidnapping and disappearance of Wang Xing, a pivotal story encapsulating the human toll.
[11:46–14:29] — Richard Horsey details the operations and unique structural advantages of Shway Koko.
[33:50–36:15] — Tour of Shway Koko; surreal juxtaposition of theme park, hotels, and scam compounds.
[50:32–54:47] — The rescue of Wang Xing; diplomatic fallout and the sudden release of thousands of enslaved scam workers.
[58:20–59:00] — The latest developments: US and UK sanctions, scam city adaptation, and the ongoing resilience of the criminal empire.
[66:20–72:02] — Nathan Sutherland and Lindsay Kennedy on how scam centers are now at the heart of border conflict and national animosities.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

Summary prepared by The Underworld Podcast Summarizer.

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Summary

The Underworld Podcast

Episode Overview

KEY THEMES & DISCUSSION POINTS

1. The Abduction of Actor Wang Xing: The Personal Meets the Global

2. What is Shway Koko? Myanmar’s ‘Scam Utopia’

3. Criminal Infrastructure and Logistics

4. Myanmar’s Endless Civil War: Fuelled by Illicit Billions

5. The Rise of Warlord Saw Chit Thu

6. A Criminal Kingdom: Power, Alliances, and Betrayals

7. The Mysterious Chinese Mastermind: Shi Zhijiang

8. What Life Looks Like Inside Shway Koko

9. International Repercussions and Criminal Diplomacy

10. The Breaking Point: The Wang Xing Incident Goes Viral

11. Sanctions, Starlink, and the Limits of Law

12. Scam Cities Fueling Border Wars

NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE MOMENTS

IMPORTANT SEGMENTS & TIMESTAMPS

FINAL REFLECTIONS

Summary

The Underworld Podcast

Episode Overview

KEY THEMES & DISCUSSION POINTS

1. The Abduction of Actor Wang Xing: The Personal Meets the Global

2. What is Shway Koko? Myanmar’s ‘Scam Utopia’

3. Criminal Infrastructure and Logistics

4. Myanmar’s Endless Civil War: Fuelled by Illicit Billions

5. The Rise of Warlord Saw Chit Thu

6. A Criminal Kingdom: Power, Alliances, and Betrayals

7. The Mysterious Chinese Mastermind: Shi Zhijiang

8. What Life Looks Like Inside Shway Koko

9. International Repercussions and Criminal Diplomacy

10. The Breaking Point: The Wang Xing Incident Goes Viral

11. Sanctions, Starlink, and the Limits of Law

12. Scam Cities Fueling Border Wars

NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE MOMENTS

IMPORTANT SEGMENTS & TIMESTAMPS

FINAL REFLECTIONS