Due to ongoing security operations in Mon and Kayin States, people holding 13/ registration cards are no longer allowed to ride ambulances, according to local rescue teams.
Since the military junta began cracking down on the online scan syndicates in the Shwekokko area and Myawaddy township, 13/ registration cardholders traveling as patients or attendants have been detained at checkpoints.
In the third week of November, the 13/ registration holder riding in an ambulance in Myawaddy Township was arrested. Similarly, an ambulance from Mon State was also stopped and checked, according to a rescue team member in Mawlamyine.
“They pretend to be a patient or a patient’s attendant and ride in the ambulance. When checkpoints inspect them, they see the 13/ card and don’t let them pass. Most of those arrested are coming from the Shwekokko side, and it’s affecting Mon State too. Some ambulances didn’t know and carried them, only to face trouble when reaching the checkpoint. Because of the scam syndicates, inspections have become stricter. Some 13/ holders can’t even speak Burmese,” he added.
Yesterday, near Yinnyein Station in Paung Township, over 100 scam syndicate workers were arrested, and most of them held 13/ registration cards.
Because of this, rescue teams in Mon and Karen States have warned their members not to carry anyone with a 13/ registration card. If someone is a genuine patient in need of emergency transport, they must have a recommendation letter from their village or ward authorities before being transported.
“The current security situation, most rescue teams in Karen and Mon have been instructed not to carry 13/ holders. It’s to avoid problems on the road. If someone is a real patient, we will carry them, but they must have a village or ward recommendation letter. Some 13/ holders have come to these states for work and settled here,” said a rescue team member from Karen State.
Strict inspections and arrests of foreign nationals holding 13/ registrations who fled scam compounds are ongoing at major checkpoints, including Hpa An-Thanlwin Bridge, Mawlamyine-Thanlwin Bridge, and the town’s entry or exit points in Kyaikto, Bilin, Thaton, and Hpa-An.
Locals from Shan State who legitimately hold 13/ registration cards have been warned on social media by experienced travelers to plan their journeys carefully. Holders of 14/, 1/, 5/, and 9/ registration cards are also facing stricter inspections.
According to the Military junta’s information department, from November 18 to November 25, security forces arrested 1,847 foreign nationals involved in online scam Syndicates and gambling operations in the Shwekokko area and destroyed operational equipment using heavy machinery.
As a result, thousands of workers from Myanmar, China, Thailand, India, and other countries who were employed in scam compounds are now fleeing by all possible means.
Starting from November 23, more than 600 people fleeing scam operations have been detained in KyaiKto, Bilin, Thaton, and Paung Townships in Mon State, according to an officer from the Thaton District Police Force speaking to Lagon Eain.
