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One Chinese judicial body has condemned five leading members of a notorious Burmese mafia to death as Chinese authorities continues its crackdown on scam networks in the region.

Altogether, twenty-one Bai family figures and partners were sentenced of scams, homicide, injury and additional offenses, said a official announcement released on the judicial portal.

The group is among a handful of syndicates that rose to power in the last two decades and changed the poor backwater town of the town into a wealthy hub of casinos and red-light districts.

Over the past few years they pivoted to illegal operations in which many of trafficked individuals, several of them from China, are caught, harmed and compelled to cheat others in criminal activities valued at billions of dollars.

Information of the Judgment

Mafia head Bai Suocheng and his heir Bai Yingcang were among the five figures sentenced to death by the court in Shenzhen. Another individual, A third figure and A fourth person were the remaining sentenced.

Two members of the clan syndicate were given delayed executions. Five were condemned to life imprisonment, while more figures were received jail terms varying from three to 20 years.

This family, who controlled their own militia, created 41 facilities to host their digital scam operations and gambling houses, authorities said.

Extent of Criminal Operations

These criminal activities involved more than twenty-nine billion Chinese yuan ($4.1bn; £3.1bn). They also led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals, the suicide of an individual and several injuries, official sources reported.

The severe penalties handed down by the court are part of the Chinese effort to remove the vast scam operations in South East Asia - and send a firm signal to additional unlawful organizations.

Context of the Families

Such groups became dominant in the recent decades with the assistance of a prominent figure - who currently heads Myanmar's military government. The leader had intended to support allies in Laukkaing after ousting its former warlord.

Among the groups, the Bais were "the most powerful", Bai Yingcang earlier informed official sources.

During that period, our Bai family was the leading in both the government and military spheres," he stated in a documentary about the clan, aired on official channels in July.

In the same documentary, a employee at one of fraud facilities recalled the harm he had endured at the location: in addition to being assaulted, he had his fingernails extracted with tools and a couple of his digits cut off with a blade.

Additional Charges

Bai Yingcang is included in those who were given to execution recently. He has also been independently sentenced of conspiring to traffic and produce eleven tons of methamphetamine, state media reported.

Decline of the Families

Their fall came in 2023 as situations altered.

Previously Chinese authorities has urged the local government to control fraudulent operations in the area.

Last year, the Chinese police released arrest warrants for the key figures of these clans.

The patriarch, the clan's leader, was among the figures who were handed to Beijing from Myanmar in recent months.

"Why is the authorities making such extensive work to go after the four families?" a official stated in the July documentary.

This serves as a warning individuals, no matter your position, where you are, as long as you carry out such terrible acts targeting the citizens, you will be held accountable."