China prosecutes major northern Myanmar criminal gangs

BEIJING -- China recently prosecuted two criminal gangs based in northern Myanmar over telecom fraud and other crimes targeting civilians in China, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said Wednesday.

Through joint law enforcement cooperation, Chinese and Myanmar police have arrested more than 57,000 Chinese nationals suspected of fraud. Cases related to all four major criminal gangs based in the Kokang region of Myanmar have now entered the judicial process, the ministry noted.

According to China's public security authorities, the criminal gang led by the Wei family has built 31 compounds in Kokang since 2009 to carry out criminal activities -- including telecom fraud, online gambling, organized prostitution and drug trafficking.

This gang had long exercised armed control over these compounds, allowing violent abuse, beating and even killing of low-level telecom fraud personnel within the gang.

These crimes have resulted in the deaths of eight Chinese citizens, while involving fraud-related funds exceeding 5 billion yuan (around $704 million), gambling-related funds exceeding 9 billion yuan, and illegal profits from organized prostitution amounting to over 19 million yuan.

Another criminal gang in Kokang, led by the Liu family, has built 28 telecom fraud compounds in the region, deployed armed forces to intimidate and control these areas through violence, and carried out telecom and online scams, extortion and illegal detention, the investigation revealed.

In addition, this criminal gang has expanded into gambling, prostitution and drug trafficking, the police said.

Police investigations have revealed that the Liu family group is linked to over 2.6 billion yuan in telecom fraud funds, more than 8 billion yuan in gambling funds, over 17 million yuan stemming from online extortion, and over 16 million yuan in illicit earnings from prostitution.

Chinese law enforcement authorities previously handled cases involving two other major Kokang-based criminal gangs that targeted Chinese citizens.

On Sept 22 this year, a court tried 21 members of the Bai family crime group on more than 10 charges, with over 20 billion yuan in illicit funds from fraud and gambling involved. On Sept 29, 11 members of the Ming family gang, based in northern Myanmar, were sentenced to death on multiple criminal counts.

"Cracking down on these criminal groups, which have long operated abroad and targeted Chinese citizens, is an important demonstration of China's judicial sovereignty," said Li Changlin, a professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Law enforcement personnel and experts noted that cross-border telecom fraud and related crimes remain rampant, with new tactics constantly emerging. They said that finding ways to deliver swift, precise and effective strikes against these evolving crimes remains a pressing challenge.

"The downfall of these criminal groups also serves as a vivid anti-fraud lesson for the public," said Chen Jie, a Beijing-based lawyer.

Fostering individual awareness is fundamental, while vivid case analyses and public legal education can also help build a strong line of defense against deception and temptation, he added.

A senior official from the MPS said that the police will continue to maintain a tough stance against cross-border telecom fraud, strengthen international law enforcement and judicial cooperation, and resolutely eradicate overseas fraud hubs to safeguard people's lives and property.