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A China's judicial body has sentenced a group of prominent members of a well-known Burmese organized crime group to death as Beijing continues its crackdown on scam operations in Southeast Asian region.

Altogether, 21 clan figures and partners were found guilty of scams, murder, injury and other offenses, reported a state media report published on the court portal.

The group is one of a few of syndicates that gained influence in the early 2000s and changed the impoverished remote area of Laukkaing into a profitable hub of gambling establishments and entertainment zones.

Recently they shifted to scams in which many of smuggled individuals, many of them Chinese, are caught, mistreated and compelled to scam targets in illegal operations estimated at huge sums.

Information of the Judgment

Mafia boss the patriarch and his son the younger Bai were included in the several individuals given to capital punishment by the court in Shenzhen. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the additional punished.

Two figures of the Bai family mafia were handed delayed executions. Five were condemned to life in prison, while more figures were received prison sentences between three to 20 years.

The clan, who controlled their own militia, set up 41 bases to accommodate their cyberscam activities and gambling houses, officials said.

Extent of Illegal Activities

Such unlawful operations involved exceeding 29 billion Chinese yuan ($4.1 billion; £3.1bn). These activities also led to the demise of several from China citizens, the self-inflicted death of one and numerous assaults, reports stated.

The harsh punishments issued by the court are part of the Chinese effort to eradicate the vast scam networks in South East Asia - and issue a strong signal to additional criminal groups.

History of the Groups

These groups rose to power in the early 2000s with the support of a prominent figure - who currently heads the country's regime. He had wanted to support associates in Laukkaing after ousting its former leader.

Among the clans, the this family were "absolutely number one", Bai Yingcang earlier told state media.

Back then, our Bai family was the dominant in each of the political and military arenas," he stated in a report about the clan, shown on Chinese state media in July.

Within that report, a employee at one of illegal operations narrated the harm he had experienced at the location: besides being assaulted, he had his nails yanked out with tools and a couple of his digits severed with a tool.

More Accusations

The son is among those who were given to execution this week. He has also been independently convicted of planning to traffic and manufacture 11 tonnes of methamphetamine, state media announced.

Decline of the Groups

The families' fall occurred in last year as circumstances altered.

Previously Chinese authorities has encouraged the Myanmar junta to limit scam operations in Laukkaing.

Recently, the Chinese police announced legal actions for the key members of these groups.

The patriarch, the Bai family's patriarch, was among the figures who were handed to Beijing from the country in early 2024.

"Why is the authorities making such extensive work to pursue the four families?" a Chinese investigator said in the summer report.

"It's to warn other people, no matter your position, your location, as long as you engage in such heinous crimes against the nationals, you will pay the price."