China executes 11 members of Myanmar-based syndicate in crackdown on scam operations

BANGKOK (AP) — China executed 11 members of a Myanmar-based family crime syndicate that killed 14 Chinese citizens and ran scam and gambling operations worth more than $1 billion, authorities said.

The Wenzhou city Intermediate People’s Court announced the execution in a statement Thursday morning. It sentenced the 11 people to death in September. They included Ming Guoping and Ming Zhenzhen, who the court found led the scam and gambling operations, as well as key group members Zhou Weichang, Wu Hongming and Luao Jianzhang.

The group filed an appeal that was rejected by the court in November.

The family members were detained in November 2023 when Chinese authorities exerted pressure on authorities in the border areas shared with Myanmar to crack down on scams.

Scam parks have become an industrial scale business in Southeast Asia, especially Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, where a mix of trafficked and willing labor have carried out digital scams on victims around the world.

Authorities in the region face growing international pressure from China, the U.S. and other nations to address the proliferation of criminal activity.