A court in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Tuesday, 4 October, sentenced five members of a large crime ring operating in Myanmar’s Kokang region to death.
The gang was responsible for the deaths of six Chinese nationals, one suicide, and several injuries, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The gang was mainly involved in crimes such as fraud, murder, gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking in Myanmar’s northern border region.
41 Fraud Camps, Billion Dollars Fraud
According to the court ruling, the ring had set up 41 fraud camps in the Kokang region, where thousands of people were lured into online fraud and gambling businesses. Two of the defendants, Bay Saw Chain and Bay Yin Chin, were the gang’s main leaders.
They built a vast illegal empire with the help of local armed groups. Crimes such as telecom fraud, kidnapping, extortion, and illegal border crossings were carried out from these camps.
The Chinese court said that the syndicate’s transactions through fraud and gambling amounted to about 29 billion yuan (4.06 billion US dollars or 5.31 billion SGD).
In addition, Bei Yin Chin was also found guilty of manufacturing and trafficking about 11 tons of methamphetamine.
Sentences Ranging From Death to Life
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court sentenced five people to death, two to 2-year suspended death sentences, five others to life imprisonment, and the remaining nine to 3-20 years in prison.
At the same time, the court confiscated their assets and issued deportation orders for some of the defendants.
China’s tough stance and regional cooperation
Chinese authorities have been focusing on dismantling these border fraud camps in recent months through joint operations with Southeast Asian countries. Thousands of people have already been sent back to China.
In September, 16 members of another family-based gang operating in the Kokang region were similarly sentenced to death and life imprisonment.
The global shadow of online fraud
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), criminal gangs earn tens of billions of dollars a year from these cyber fraud centers based in Southeast Asia.
The network has now spread to South America, Africa, Europe and the Pacific Islands. The agency also said that hundreds of thousands of people around the world are currently trapped in these fraud centers.
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