Scam mafia kingpins put to dying: China executes household behind empire that duped worldwide web customers into pretend romances and crypto rip-offs

China has executed 11 members of a notorious Myanmar mafia family that was infamous for duping victims in fake online romances. 

The Ming crime family were sentenced to death in September by a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, with the same court also carrying out the executions on Thursday. 

They were executed for crimes including ‘intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud and casino establishment’, according to news agency Xinhua. 

The death sentences were approved by the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, which found that the evidence produced of crimes committed since 2015 was ‘conclusive and sufficient’.

The ‘Ming family criminal group’ had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to ‘many others’, according to local media. 

‘The criminals’ close relatives were allowed to meet with them before the execution,’ Xinhua added. 

Their empire of crime came crashing down in 2023 after they were detained and handed over to Chinese authorities by ethnic militias that had taken power in the town of Laukkaing amid rising conflicts with Myanmar’s army. 

Under Chinese law, criminals sentenced to death are executed either by firing squad or lethal injection. 

The execution came as Sir Keir Starmer met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the British prime minister said he raised China’s human rights record.

Starmer said when asked if the issue of human rights and of the prosecution of British citizen and pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai had been raised: ‘We did have a respectful discussion about that, raised those issues as you would expect. 

China has executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including ‘key members’ of telecom scam operations (pictured, some of the crime family at their sentencing in October at the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province)

Fraud operations centred in Myanmar’s border regions have extracted billions of dollars from around the world through phone and internet scams (pictured, some of the crime family at their sentencing in October at the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province) 

‘It gives us great opportunities, but it also gives us the opportunity to have those discussions about areas where we disagree.’

Fraud compounds where scammers lure internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in the lawless borderlands of Myanmar.

Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world.

Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work.

In recent years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation with regional governments to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to face trial in China’s opaque justice system.

Fraud operations centred in Myanmar’s border regions have extracted billions of dollars from around the world through phone and internet scams.

Experts say most of the centres are run by Chinese-led crime syndicates working with Myanmar militias.

The fraud activities and crackdowns by Beijing are closely followed in China.

The September rulings that resulted in Thursday’s executions also included death sentences with two-year reprieves to five other individuals.

Another 23 suspects were given prison sentences ranging from five years to life.

In November, Chinese authorities sentenced five people to death for their involvement in scam operations in Myanmar’s Kokang region.

Their crimes had led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals, according to state media reports.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned in April that the cyberscam industry was spreading across the world, including to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and some Pacific Islands.

The UN has estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are working in scam centres globally.