China Sentences 11 Members of Myanmar-Based Mafia Family to Death
A Chinese court has sentenced 11 members of the notorious Ming crime family to death for running cross-border scam centres in Myanmar, Chinese state media reported on Monday.
The trial, held in Wenzhou, eastern China, involved 39 members of the Ming family, who were convicted of running sprawling criminal operations across the China–Myanmar border. Alongside the 11 death penalties, the court handed death sentences with two-year suspensions to five others, life imprisonment to 11 members, and prison terms ranging from five to 24 years for the rest.
The Ming Family’s Criminal Empire
The Ming family was part of one of the four powerful clans that turned Laukkai, a once-quiet town in Myanmar’s Shan State, into a hub of illegal casinos, drugs, prostitution, and cyber scam centres.
The court found that since 2015, the family had generated over 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion; £1 billion) through their operations, which included telecom fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and forced labour.
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According to the ruling, the syndicate was also responsible for the deaths of scam centre workers — some were shot to prevent them from fleeing back to China.
The “Scamdemic” and Laukkai’s Role
Laukkai, once promoted as a gambling haven for Chinese tourists, became a key hub in what the United Nations has described as a global “scamdemic.” More than 100,000 foreign nationals, many of them Chinese, were lured into scam compounds, imprisoned, and forced to run sophisticated online fraud operations targeting victims worldwide.
The Ming family controlled compounds that held at least 10,000 trafficked workers. The most infamous was the Crouching Tiger Villa, where workers were routinely beaten, tortured, and abused if they refused to comply.
Collapse of the Ming Family
The syndicate’s downfall began in 2023 after Myanmar authorities, under pressure from China, arrested members of the Ming family and handed them over to Beijing. The family patriarch, Ming Xuechang, reportedly committed suicide before capture.
Since then, China has repatriated thousands of workers from scam centres, while also pressuring neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Cambodia to clamp down on cross-border fraud hubs.
Despite Beijing’s crackdown, scam networks have shifted operations to Cambodia and continue to thrive in parts of Myanmar beyond Chinese influence.
China Sends Strong Signal
By issuing mass death sentences, Beijing is sending a clear message that it intends to deal harshly with transnational crime rings operating along its border. Analysts say the crackdown also highlights China’s growing influence over Myanmar’s conflict-ridden Shan State, where local insurgent groups now control key territories once run by the military and criminal clans.