On 29 January 2026, 11 members of a criminal syndicate operating from Myanmar and controlling a network of scam centres and online casinos were executed in China. The convicted individuals were found guilty of murder, fraud, unlawful detention and other serious crimes.
This refers to the so-called “Ming family”, a criminal syndicate that for several years controlled the infrastructure of scam centres and unlicensed gambling platforms in Myanmar’s border regions. According to investigators, the group’s activities were primarily aimed at a Chinese audience and included telephone and online scams, as well as the operation of unlicensed gambling websites.
The main figures in the case were detained in 2023–2024 during joint operations by Chinese and Myanmar security forces aimed at dismantling scam clusters in northern Myanmar. After the arrests, the suspects were handed over to the Chinese authorities for further investigation and trial.
More materials related to scam centres in Myanmar:
- Hundreds of people from Asia, Europe and the CIS are being held in forced labour at scam centres in Myanmar
- Chinese actor rescued from a scam centre in Myanmar
- Myanmar military raid a second major scam centre
- Meta participated in dismantling Tai Chang scam centres in Myanmar
- Myanmar freed around 1,000 foreign nationals from scam centres near the Thai border
- Stories of people who fell into labour slavery in scam centres in Myanmar
The court found that some employees and operators of the scam centres were held against their will, and violence was used against those who attempted to refuse work or escape. The case materials also include murders and unlawful deprivation of liberty. According to official data, at least 14 Chinese citizens became victims of the crimes. The total turnover of the illegal operations was estimated at more than one billion dollars.
The death sentences were handed down by the People’s Court of Wenzhou in September 2025 and were later upheld by higher judicial authorities. The leader of the group, Ming Xuechang, had previously committed suicide in 2023 during a police operation. Other defendants in the case received life sentences and death sentences with a suspended execution.
- More details on Google News.
