Sri Lanka, Nov. 20 -- Myanmar's military said Wednesday (Nov 19) it raided an internet scam hub on the Thai border, arresting nearly 350 people, part of a highly publicised crackdown against the booming black market compounds.

Sprawling fraud factories have ballooned in war-torn Myanmar's border regions, housing scammers targeting internet users with romance and business cons worth tens of billions of dollars annually.

Myanmar's junta has long been accused of turning a blind eye but has trumpeted a crackdown since February after being lobbied by key military backer China, experts say.

Additional raids beginning last month were part of a propaganda effort, according to some monitors, choreographed to vent pressure from Beijing without t...