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One Chinese judicial body has condemned five leading individuals of a well-known Burmese mafia to death as Beijing continues its crackdown on scam activities in the region.

In all, 21 Bai family figures and partners were found guilty of scams, homicide, injury and various offenses, said a official announcement posted on the court portal.

The group is one of a handful of mafias that rose to power in the 2000s and transformed the impoverished isolated region of Laukkaing into a wealthy base of gambling establishments and red-light districts.

Recently they turned to scams in which thousands of smuggled workers, many of them Chinese, are caught, abused and forced to cheat targets in illegal operations valued at billions.

Details of the Judgment

Syndicate leader Bai Suocheng and his son Bai Yingcang were among the five individuals condemned to execution by the judicial body. Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the remaining sentenced.

A couple of figures of the clan syndicate were received suspended death sentences. Several were given to life imprisonment, while more figures were received jail sentences ranging from several years to two decades.

This family, who commanded their own militia, established forty-one compounds to host their digital scam activities and betting establishments, officials said.

Magnitude of Criminal Operations

Such illegal operations involved over 29bn yuan (over four billion dollars; £3.1 billion). These activities also led to the demise of several Chinese citizens, the self-inflicted death of one and numerous harm, official sources reported.

The strict penalties issued by the judicial body are part of the Chinese campaign to remove the large scam operations in Southeast Asia - and send a stern signal to further illegal groups.

Context of the Groups

These clans gained influence in the early 2000s with the support of Min Aung Hlaing - who currently heads the country's regime. The leader had wanted to bolster associates in the town after replacing its previous warlord.

Within the clans, the this family were "absolutely number one", Bai Yingcang previously stated to official sources.

During that period, the clan was the leading in both the government and military spheres," the individual said in a report about the Bai family, shown on official channels in July.

Within that documentary, a worker at a fraud facilities narrated the abuse he had suffered at the location: in addition to being assaulted, he had his fingernails removed with tools and two of his fingers amputated with a kitchen knife.

Additional Allegations

Bai Yingcang is included in those who were condemned to death recently. He has also been independently found guilty of conspiring to trade and manufacture 11 tonnes of narcotics, official sources reported.

End of the Groups

Their fall happened in recent times as political winds altered.

For years Chinese authorities has encouraged the regime to control fraudulent operations in Laukkaing.

In 2023, the Chinese police announced legal actions for the most prominent figures of these groups.

Bai Suocheng, the clan's head, was included in the individuals who were extradited to Beijing from the country in recent months.

For what reason is the authorities putting significant resources to go after the clans?" a expert commented in the summer report.

"It's to warn groups, regardless of your identity, your location, if you carry out such serious crimes targeting the Chinese people, you will pay the price."