China has executed 11 Myanmar nationals connected to a notorious cross-border online scam syndicate operating along the China–Myanmar border, state media and international reports said on Thursday.
According to China’s Supreme People’s Court, the individuals—members of the infamous “Ming family”—were convicted of running large-scale online fraud operations between 2015 and 2023, siphoning off more than 100 billion yuan ($14 billion). The court said at least 14 Chinese citizens died as a direct result of the group’s criminal activities, the BBC reported.
The court found the group guilty of multiple serious crimes, including fraud, illegal detention, operating gambling businesses, human trafficking, and violent abuse of trafficked workers. Victims were reportedly forced to carry out online scams under threat, physical violence, and constant surveillance.
The Ming family members were handed over to Chinese authorities in 2023 and sentenced by a court in Zhejiang province in September last year. Their arrest followed intense fighting in Myanmar’s Shan State, during which ethnic armed groups took control of the border town of Laukkai—once a major hub for scam operations.
Chinese state media said the executions were intended as a warning to other criminal networks. Authorities confirmed investigations are ongoing into other families allegedly involved in similar crimes, including the Bai, Wei, and Liu families, some of whose members also face possible death sentences.
According to the United Nations, hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked across Southeast Asia to work in online scam centers, generating billions of dollars annually. Chinese nationals have been among the most frequent victims.
The Ming family rose to prominence in the early 2010s in Laukkai, transforming the border region into a center for casinos, brothels, and scam compounds. Survivors who were later rescued described routine beatings, torture, and harsh confinement inside heavily guarded facilities.
