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A Chinese court has sentenced a group of top figures of a well-known Myanmar organized crime group to death as Chinese authorities persists in its crackdown on fraudulent operations in South East Asia.

Overall, 21 clan figures and partners were found guilty of fraud, murder, assault and various crimes, reported a state media announcement posted on the court website.

The group is among a small number of mafias that rose to power in the early 2000s and transformed the impoverished isolated region of the town into a profitable base of gambling establishments and nightlife areas.

Recently they shifted to fraudulent schemes in which numerous of trafficked individuals, a large number of them Chinese, are caught, harmed and obligated to scam targets in illegal operations estimated at billions.

Details of the Verdict

Syndicate head the patriarch and his heir Bai Yingcang were included in the five men given to capital punishment by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and A fourth person were the other three punished.

Two members of the clan mafia were received suspended death sentences. Several were given to life imprisonment, while additional individuals were received prison terms varying from three to 20 years.

The clan, who led their own private army, set up 41 bases to host their cyberscam schemes and casinos, officials reported.

Extent of Criminal Operations

These criminal operations included over 29 billion yuan (over four billion dollars; £3.1bn). These activities also led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens, the self-inflicted death of an individual and several assaults, reports reported.

The harsh sentences delivered by the judicial body are a component of the Chinese effort to eliminate the large fraud rings in the region - and send a strong warning to other unlawful groups.

Context of the Families

Such groups rose to power in the recent decades with the support of Min Aung Hlaing - who currently heads Myanmar's military government. The leader had wanted to bolster allies in Laukkaing after replacing its previous warlord.

Among the families, the Bais were "absolutely number one", the son previously stated to state media.

Back then, the clan was the leading in both the political and armed spheres," he said in a documentary about the clan, broadcast on national media in the summer.

In the same film, a individual at one of illegal operations described the harm he had suffered at the location: in addition to being hit, he had his nails extracted with tools and two of his fingers amputated with a tool.

Additional Accusations

The son is included in those who were sentenced to execution in the latest ruling. The individual has also been separately sentenced of planning to traffic and produce eleven tons of narcotics, official sources reported.

Downfall of the Groups

Their downfall came in recent times as political winds shifted.

Previously Beijing has pressed the regime to control scam operations in Laukkaing.

Last year, the Chinese police released detention orders for the most prominent figures of such families.

Bai Suocheng, the clan's leader, was among the individuals who were extradited to China from the country in early 2024.

For what reason is the state making significant resources to go after the clans?" a Chinese investigator commented in the summer film.

"It's to warn other people, regardless of who you are, where you are, when you engage in these heinous crimes affecting the nationals, you will face consequences."