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A Chinese court has handed down death sentences to several leading figures of a notorious Myanmar mafia to capital punishment as Chinese authorities continues its crackdown on scam operations in South East Asia.

Altogether, 21 Bai family figures and partners were convicted of scams, homicide, injury and various crimes, stated a official announcement posted on the court portal.

This clan is among a handful of organized crime groups that became dominant in the early 2000s and converted the poor backwater town of the town into a profitable base of gambling establishments and nightlife areas.

In recent years they turned to fraudulent schemes in which thousands of illegally moved people, many of them from China, are caught, abused and obligated to cheat victims in criminal enterprises worth billions.

Specifics of the Judgment

Mafia boss Bai Suocheng and his son Bai Yingcang were among the five men sentenced to capital punishment by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Yang Liqiang, A third figure and A fourth person were the remaining convicted.

Two individuals of the Bai family mafia were handed conditional death penalties. Several were given to life in prison, while additional individuals were handed jail terms between a period of 3-20 years.

This family, who controlled their own private army, established 41 bases to accommodate their online fraud operations and casinos, officials said.

Scale of Unlawful Activities

Such illegal enterprises entailed over 29bn local currency ($4.1 billion; over three billion pounds). These activities also resulted in the deaths of six Chinese nationals, the suicide of one and numerous injuries, official sources announced.

The harsh sentences delivered by the court are a component of the Chinese campaign to eliminate the extensive scam networks in South East Asia - and deliver a stern signal to other illegal groups.

History of the Clans

These families rose to power in the early 2000s with the help of a prominent figure - who currently heads Myanmar's junta. He had wanted to bolster allies in Laukkaing after replacing its former ruler.

Within the clans, the this family were "the top", the son previously stated to state media.

During that period, we was the most powerful in each of the political and armed spheres," the individual remarked in a film about the clan, shown on official channels in July.

In the same report, a worker at their fraud facilities narrated the abuse he had experienced there: besides being beaten, he had his nails removed with pliers and a couple of his digits cut off with a kitchen knife.

Further Accusations

Bai Yingcang is among those who were condemned to death recently. The individual has additionally been separately found guilty of conspiring to smuggle and make a large quantity of illegal drugs, official sources reported.

Decline of the Clans

Their fall came in recent times as circumstances altered.

Previously Beijing has encouraged the regime to rein in scam operations in the area.

In 2023, the law enforcement released detention orders for the leading individuals of these clans.

Bai Suocheng, the clan's head, was included in the individuals who were transferred to Beijing from Myanmar in early 2024.

"Why is the authorities making so much effort to go after the clans?" a expert commented in the July film.

"It's to warn other people, no matter your identity, your location, as long as you commit these heinous acts affecting the Chinese people, you will be held accountable."