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A China's court has sentenced several leading individuals of a well-known Burmese mafia to capital punishment as Chinese authorities continues its crackdown on fraudulent operations in the region.

Altogether, 21 Bai family individuals and collaborators were sentenced of fraud, homicide, assault and other offenses, stated a official announcement posted on the court website.

The group is among a few of syndicates that gained influence in the early 2000s and converted the poor isolated region of Laukkaing into a lucrative base of casinos and nightlife areas.

In recent years they shifted to fraudulent schemes in which numerous of illegally moved workers, several of them Chinese, are caught, abused and compelled to scam victims in criminal operations estimated at huge sums.

Information of the Sentencing

Mafia boss the patriarch and his son the younger Bai were included in the five figures condemned to execution by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the other three punished.

Two members of the clan mafia were given delayed executions. Several were sentenced to life imprisonment, while additional individuals were given prison terms between three to 20 years.

The Bais, who commanded their own armed group, established forty-one bases to host their online fraud operations and betting establishments, government reported.

Scale of Criminal Operations

These unlawful operations entailed over 29bn Chinese yuan ($4.1 billion; over three billion pounds). These activities also resulted in the fatalities of several Chinese individuals, the self-inflicted death of an individual and numerous assaults, reports stated.

The strict penalties delivered by the court are part of the Chinese effort to eliminate the vast scam networks in Southeast Asia - and issue a stern warning to additional unlawful groups.

History of the Groups

Such families rose to power in the recent decades with the support of a military leader - who now leads Myanmar's military government. The leader had aimed to bolster associates in the town after replacing its previous ruler.

Among the groups, the Bais were "absolutely number one", the son previously stated to state media.

"At that time, we was the most powerful in both the political and armed arenas," the individual stated in a film about the clan, broadcast on Chinese state media in July.

In the same film, a employee at one of illegal operations narrated the mistreatment he had endured there: in addition to being beaten, he had his fingernails extracted with instruments and a couple of his fingers amputated with a blade.

More Accusations

The son is among those who were condemned to death this week. He has also been independently sentenced of planning to trade and manufacture a large quantity of methamphetamine, official sources announced.

End of the Clans

Their downfall occurred in recent times as situations shifted.

For years Beijing has pressed the regime to control scam schemes in the area.

Last year, the authorities announced detention orders for the key figures of these families.

The patriarch, the Bai family's head, was included in the figures who were extradited to Beijing from Myanmar in early 2024.

"Why is the state putting such extensive work to go after the clans?" a Chinese investigator commented in the July documentary.

The purpose is to caution groups, regardless of your position, your base, if you commit such heinous offenses against the citizens, you will be held accountable."