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One China's judicial body has condemned five top members of an infamous Myanmar organized crime group to death as Chinese authorities maintains its efforts on scam networks in South East Asia.

Altogether, twenty-one Bai family figures and partners were sentenced of scams, murder, assault and other offenses, reported a official report posted on the judicial portal.

The group is one of a handful of syndicates that became dominant in the last two decades and converted the poor backwater town of the town into a profitable base of casinos and red-light districts.

Recently they pivoted to illegal operations in which thousands of trafficked workers, many of them from China, are trapped, harmed and forced to cheat victims in illegal enterprises valued at billions.

Information of the Judgment

Syndicate head the patriarch and his son the younger Bai were among the five individuals given to death by the court in Shenzhen. Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and A fourth person were the other three sentenced.

A couple of individuals of the clan syndicate were given conditional death penalties. Five were given to life in prison, while more figures were handed prison sentences ranging from several years to two decades.

This family, who controlled their own armed group, created 41 facilities to accommodate their digital scam schemes and betting establishments, authorities reported.

Magnitude of Unlawful Activities

Such criminal operations entailed over twenty-nine billion yuan (over four billion dollars; £3.1bn). They also resulted in the deaths of six from China individuals, the suicide of an individual and numerous injuries, reports announced.

The severe penalties issued by the court are part of China's campaign to remove the vast scam networks in Southeast Asia - and issue a firm signal to other unlawful groups.

Context of the Families

These families became dominant in the 2000s with the support of Min Aung Hlaing - who now leads the country's regime. The leader had intended to prop up associates in Laukkaing after removing its former ruler.

Among the groups, the this family were "absolutely number one", Bai Yingcang previously told official sources.

Back then, our Bai family was the most powerful in both the political and armed circles," he said in a film about the clan, shown on official channels in the summer.

During the documentary, a employee at a illegal operations narrated the abuse he had suffered there: besides being beaten, he had his nails removed with tools and two of his fingers severed with a kitchen knife.

Additional Allegations

Bai Yingcang is among those who were sentenced to execution in the latest ruling. The individual has also been independently found guilty of conspiring to smuggle and produce a large quantity of methamphetamine, reports announced.

Decline of the Clans

The families' fall happened in last year as political winds changed.

Previously Chinese authorities has pressed the Myanmar junta to control scam schemes in the area.

In 2023, the authorities released arrest warrants for the most prominent members of these groups.

Bai Suocheng, the Bai family's patriarch, was among the figures who were extradited to China from Myanmar in recent months.

"Why is the state putting so much effort to go after the four families?" a Chinese investigator said in the July film.

The purpose is to caution other people, no matter who you are, your location, as long as you engage in these serious offenses affecting the Chinese people, you will face consequences."