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One China's court has sentenced a group of leading individuals of a well-known Burmese organized crime group to death as Beijing continues its efforts on scam networks in the region.

In all, twenty-one Bai family figures and partners were found guilty of scams, homicide, assault and various crimes, stated a official document published on the court portal.

The group is among a small number of syndicates that became dominant in the 2000s and changed the impoverished isolated region of the town into a profitable hub of gambling establishments and entertainment zones.

Recently they shifted to scams in which thousands of smuggled people, a large number of them from China, are ensnared, abused and obligated to scam others in unlawful activities worth billions of dollars.

Details of the Sentencing

Mafia boss the patriarch and his heir the younger Bai were among the several individuals sentenced to execution by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the additional sentenced.

Two figures of the clan syndicate were given delayed executions. Five were sentenced to life in prison, while nine others were given prison terms between several years to two decades.

This family, who led their own militia, set up 41 bases to accommodate their online fraud schemes and betting establishments, government said.

Magnitude of Illegal Schemes

These unlawful activities entailed more than 29 billion Chinese yuan ($4.1 billion; £3.1bn). They also resulted in the fatalities of six from China individuals, the suicide of an individual and several assaults, state media reported.

The harsh punishments delivered by the judicial body are part of China's initiative to eliminate the large fraud networks in Southeast Asia - and deliver a stern message to further illegal organizations.

History of the Families

Such families gained influence in the recent decades with the support of a prominent figure - who is in charge of Myanmar's regime. He had wanted to support allies in the town after ousting its previous warlord.

Within the clans, the Bais were "the most powerful", the son before stated to state media.

"At that time, the clan was the leading in each of the political and armed arenas," he remarked in a film about the clan, aired on national media in July.

In the same report, a worker at a illegal operations described the harm he had endured there: besides being hit, he had his nails extracted with instruments and a couple of his digits severed with a tool.

Further Charges

Bai Yingcang is among those who were given to execution recently. He has also been independently sentenced of conspiring to smuggle and make a large quantity of narcotics, state media announced.

Decline of the Clans

The families' end came in last year as political winds changed.

For years Chinese authorities has urged the regime to limit scam operations in the area.

In 2023, the Chinese police issued detention orders for the leading individuals of such groups.

The patriarch, the clan's leader, was among the individuals who were handed to China from the country in the beginning of the year.

For what reason is the authorities making significant resources to target the four families?" a expert commented in the July report.

"It's to warn groups, regardless of your position, your base, when you engage in such terrible offenses against the nationals, you will face consequences."