A Chinese court has sentenced 11 people to death
BEIJING — A Chinese court has sentenced 11 people to death for their roles in running a billion-dollar family-led crime syndicate based in Myanmar’s borderlands, where online scams, gambling, and human trafficking flourished for years.
The Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Zhejiang Province announced the sentences Monday, targeting members and associates of the powerful Ming crime family, one of four major mafia-style clans dominating northern Myanmar. The court said the syndicate was responsible for massive fraud operations, widespread trafficking, and at least 10 killings, including workers executed for attempting to escape.
At its peak, the Ming empire employed up to 10,000 people across sprawling compounds such as the Crouching Tiger Villa in Kokang, an autonomous enclave notorious for cyber scams, prostitution, and drug production. Laukkaing, Kokang’s capital, became the hub of a multi-billion-dollar scam industry, where trafficked laborers were forced to run sophisticated online fraud schemes that enriched syndicate bosses while devastating victims across Asia.
Crackdown Under Pressure
Beijing began pressing Myanmar’s junta to dismantle the scam compounds after years of public outcry from families of trafficked Chinese nationals. In late 2023, following a coordinated rebel offensive in Kokang that weakened the junta’s control, China launched an aggressive crackdown, issuing arrest warrants and bounties for Ming leaders.
Family patriarch Ming Xuechang, a former member of a Myanmar state parliament, killed himself in custody after his arrest. His son Ming Guoping, daughter Ming Julan, and granddaughter Ming Zhenzhen were later detained. The syndicate’s brutality was underlined in October 2023, when four workers were gunned down while being forcibly relocated under armed guard to avoid a police raid.
Harsh Sentences
Alongside the 11 death penalties, five other defendants received suspended death sentences, and 12 more were handed prison terms ranging from five to 24 years.
The court noted that since 2015, the Ming family leveraged influence in Kokang to build a sprawling criminal empire backed by militia protection, fueling cross-border fraud, casinos, drug trafficking, and prostitution.
Global Fraud Industry
The scale of the industry remains staggering. A U.S. Institute of Peace report estimates scams by Southeast Asian crime syndicates siphon more than $43 billion annually. Despite highly publicized crackdowns, experts warn the fraud networks are evolving, adopting cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence to streamline money laundering and expand their reach.
Chinese authorities say more than 53,000 suspects — including trafficked victims — have been repatriated from Myanmar scam centers in recent years.
CNN’s Kloe Zheng contributed reporting.
