Authorities in China have carried out death sentences against 11 members of a criminal syndicate that operated in neighboring Myanmar.

The case involves the so-called “Ming family” gang, The Caspian Post reports via foreign media.

In September 2025, a court in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, sentenced 16 defendants to death-five with a suspended sentence-on charges including intentional homicide, grievous bodily harm, illegal detention, fraud, and organizing illegal gambling. Appeals were filed, but in November the Zhejiang High People’s Court rejected them and forwarded the case for mandatory review to the Supreme People's Court of China.

The Supreme People’s Court upheld the verdicts, confirming that the Ming family syndicate had, since 2015, established multiple bases in Myanmar’s Kokang area to run large-scale telecom fraud, illegal gambling, and other crimes. Investigators said the criminal network handled more than 10 billion yuan (about $1.4 billion) in fraudulent and gambling funds and was responsible for 14 deaths and injuries to two others, along with assaults and unlawful confinement.

Following final approval by the Supreme People’s Court, the Wenzhou court executed the death sentences against 11 convicts. The gang’s leader, a former member of Shan State’s parliament and Kokang’s leadership committee-died by suicide after being detained by Chinese police in October 2023. His father and daughter were also among those sentenced to death.

Chinese authorities note that the China-Myanmar border, particularly between Yunnan province and Myanmar’s Shan State, has in recent years become a hub for phone and online scam networks targeting Chinese citizens. In July 2023, China’s Ministry of Public Security launched sweeping operations against such groups; by December 2024, more than 53,000 suspects had been extradited from Myanmar to China to face prosecution.