China has executed 11 individuals convicted of serious crimes linked to large-scale fraudulent operations based in Myanmar. The executions, carried out on Thursday, mark a significant step in Beijing’s intensified campaign against criminal syndicates operating in Southeast Asia’s border regions.
According to judicial authorities, the executed individuals were key figures within criminal organizations. Their convictions, finalized last September by a court in Wenzhou, included charges of intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud, and operating illegal gambling establishments. The Supreme People’s Court in Beijing reviewed and approved the death sentences, stating that evidence for crimes dating back to 2015 was definitive.
The criminal activities were connected to scam compounds that have proliferated in areas of Myanmar with limited law enforcement. These centers are often implicated in human trafficking, forcing workers, including many Chinese nationals, to conduct online fraud schemes. One of the dismantled groups, identified as the Ming family criminal syndicate, was held responsible for incidents leading to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to numerous others.
In recent years, China has bolstered law enforcement cooperation with neighboring countries to dismantle these illicit operations, which are estimated to generate tens of billions of dollars annually. The crackdown has led to the repatriation of thousands of individuals. The move follows the high-profile arrest and extradition earlier this year of an alleged major figure in the region’s scam industry.
Judicial officials confirmed that the condemned individuals were permitted final meetings with close relatives prior to the execution.