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One China's judicial body has condemned five prominent figures of a well-known Myanmar mafia to death as Chinese authorities persists in its crackdown on fraudulent operations in South East Asia.

Overall, twenty-one clan members and associates were sentenced of fraud, homicide, injury and additional crimes, reported a official report posted on the judicial website.

This clan is among a small number of organized crime groups that gained influence in the 2000s and transformed the underdeveloped isolated region of Laukkaing into a wealthy hub of casinos and entertainment zones.

Over the past few years they pivoted to scams in which numerous of smuggled workers, many of them from China, are caught, abused and compelled to cheat victims in criminal enterprises valued at billions.

Details of the Sentencing

Syndicate boss the patriarch and his heir the younger Bai were among the five individuals given to capital punishment by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the remaining punished.

A couple of members of the Bai family mafia were given conditional death penalties. Several were sentenced to life imprisonment, while more figures were handed prison terms varying from a period of 3-20 years.

The clan, who commanded their own armed group, created 41 compounds to accommodate their digital scam schemes and betting establishments, government reported.

Scale of Criminal Schemes

Such unlawful operations involved exceeding 29bn Chinese yuan (over four billion dollars; £3.1 billion). They also led to the fatalities of six Chinese nationals, the suicide of one and multiple harm, reports announced.

The harsh penalties delivered by the judicial body are a component of China's initiative to eradicate the large scam operations in Southeast Asia - and issue a stern message to further illegal syndicates.

History of the Groups

Such families gained influence in the 2000s with the support of a prominent figure - who is in charge of Myanmar's junta. He had intended to bolster partners in Laukkaing after ousting its former ruler.

Among the families, the this family were "absolutely number one", the son previously told state media.

"At that time, we was the most powerful in both the government and armed arenas," the individual remarked in a documentary about the clan, aired on Chinese state media in the summer.

Within that documentary, a worker at a illegal operations recalled the abuse he had endured at the location: besides being hit, he had his nails extracted with tools and two of his fingers severed with a kitchen knife.

Further Charges

The son is among those who were condemned to execution recently. The individual has also been independently found guilty of conspiring to trade and produce 11 tonnes of methamphetamine, official sources announced.

Decline of the Clans

The families' fall happened in last year as circumstances changed.

Over a long period Chinese authorities has pressed the local government to control fraudulent schemes in Laukkaing.

Last year, the law enforcement issued detention orders for the leading members of these families.

Bai Suocheng, the Bai family's head, was included in the warlords who were extradited to China from Myanmar in early 2024.

"Why is the state putting significant resources to target the groups?" a official stated in the summer film.

"It's to warn other people, no matter who you are, where you are, as long as you engage in such terrible acts against the citizens, you will pay the price."