China has executed 11 people linked to large-scale telecom fraud operations based in Myanmar, as authorities intensify a crackdown on transnational scam networks operating across Southeast Asia.
State media reported that the executions were carried out on Thursday after the suspects were sentenced to death in September by a court in Wenzhou, eastern China. The Supreme People’s Court approved the sentences, citing “conclusive and sufficient” evidence of crimes committed since 2015.
According to the state news agency Xinhua, the offences included intentional homicide, unlawful detention, serious injury, fraud and the operation of illegal casinos. Among those executed were key members of the notorious “Ming family criminal group”, whose activities were linked to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to several others.
Telecom scam centres, many operating in Myanmar’s lawless border regions, have siphoned billions of dollars from victims worldwide through romance scams, fake investment schemes and cryptocurrency fraud. While some scammers participate willingly, others are trafficked foreign nationals forced to work under brutal conditions.
Chinese authorities have stepped up cooperation with Myanmar and neighbouring countries in recent years, resulting in the repatriation of thousands of suspects to face prosecution in China. Beijing says the campaign is aimed at eradicating what it describes as the “cancer” of gambling and online fraud.
In addition to the executions, five other suspects received death sentences with two-year reprieves, while 23 others were jailed for terms ranging from five years to life imprisonment. China had also sentenced five people to death in November over similar scam operations in Myanmar’s Kokang region.
The United Nations has warned that the cyberscam industry is rapidly spreading beyond Southeast Asia to Africa, South America, the Middle East and parts of Europe, with hundreds of thousands of people believed to be involved globally.
