China has executed 11 members of the northern Myanmar–based Ming family crime syndicate after they were convicted in a high‑profile trial in September 2025 for running extensive scam centers, fraud operations, and violent criminal enterprises. The executions were carried out on January 29, 2026, after the group’s appeals were rejected and China’s Supreme People’s Court approved the death sentences.
The defendants, including leading figures such as Ming Guoping and Ming Zhenzhen, were found guilty of a broad range of crimes, including telecom fraud, intentional homicide, unlawful detention, and operating illegal gambling dens, according to state media reports via Chinese courts.
The criminal network they led was based in the Kokang region of northern Myanmar, where it established numerous scam compounds that lured victims through internet romance scams, fake investment schemes, and online gambling frauds. Witness accounts and court records linked the syndicate’s activities to the deaths of at least 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to many others.
Chinese authorities originally detained key Ming family members in November 2023 amid a broader crackdown on cross‑border crime networks operating from Southeast Asia. These groups had taken advantage of weak law enforcement in parts of Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos to build an illicit industry defrauding both Chinese and international victims.
The September 2025 trial in the eastern city of Wenzhou saw the syndicate members handed harsh sentences: death for 11 defendants, suspension of execution for others, life imprisonment, and long fixed‑term sentences for lower‑level participants. Prosecutors emphasized the “particularly egregious” nature of their crimes, which included systematic violence and exploitation.
Officials granting the executions noted that close relatives were permitted to meet with those executed before their sentences were carried out, a procedural detail highlighted by Xinhua state media. The court rulings and executions are part of China’s intensifying efforts to combat transnational cybercrime and protect citizens from sprawling online fraud networks.
Experts say these developments reflect growing regional cooperation between China and Southeast Asian governments to dismantle scam operations. Thousands of individuals believed to be involved in such schemes have since been repatriated to face justice, and law enforcement actions continue as part of a wider global effort to curb internet‑based fraud and criminal syndicates.
