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A China's court has sentenced several top individuals of a notorious Myanmar mafia to capital punishment as Beijing maintains its campaign on scam activities in South East Asia.

Overall, 21 Bai family members and associates were found guilty of scams, murder, assault and other offenses, stated a state media announcement posted on the court website.

This clan is among a few of organized crime groups that rose to power in the early 2000s and converted the impoverished backwater town of Laukkaing into a lucrative center of casinos and nightlife areas.

Recently they shifted to scams in which many of smuggled individuals, a large number of them Chinese, are ensnared, mistreated and compelled to cheat victims in unlawful operations worth billions of dollars.

Information of the Sentencing

Mafia boss the patriarch and his son the younger Bai were among the several men given to execution by the court in Shenzhen. Yang Liqiang, A third figure and Chen Guangyi were the other three convicted.

Two individuals of the clan syndicate were handed suspended death sentences. Several were condemned to permanent incarceration, while more figures were handed jail sentences ranging from a period of 3-20 years.

The clan, who led their own private army, established 41 bases to host their online fraud schemes and casinos, officials reported.

Extent of Unlawful Activities

These criminal operations included over 29bn yuan ($4.1bn; £3.1 billion). They also led to the deaths of several Chinese individuals, the suicide of an individual and numerous harm, official sources reported.

The severe punishments issued by the judicial body are a component of the Chinese campaign to eradicate the extensive fraud operations in the region - and issue a stern message to further criminal groups.

History of the Clans

Such families gained influence in the early 2000s with the support of Min Aung Hlaing - who now leads the country's junta. The leader had aimed to prop up allies in the town after ousting its previous warlord.

Within the groups, the this family were "the most powerful", Bai Yingcang earlier stated to official sources.

During that period, our Bai family was the leading in both the political and armed spheres," the individual stated in a documentary about the clan, shown on official channels in July.

During the report, a worker at their fraud facilities narrated the harm he had endured at the location: besides being assaulted, he had his fingernails yanked out with tools and a couple of his fingers amputated with a kitchen knife.

Additional Accusations

The son is among those who were condemned to execution in the latest ruling. He has additionally been separately sentenced of organizing to traffic and make a large quantity of methamphetamine, official sources stated.

End of the Clans

The families' fall occurred in recent times as circumstances changed.

For years Chinese authorities has urged the local government to limit scam schemes in the area.

In 2023, the authorities announced detention orders for the most prominent figures of such groups.

The patriarch, the clan's leader, was included in the figures who were handed to China from the country in the beginning of the year.

"Why is the authorities making such extensive work to target the four families?" a Chinese investigator said in the July film.

"It's to warn individuals, regardless of who you are, where you are, if you commit such terrible crimes targeting the Chinese people, you will be held accountable."