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China has officially sentenced to death multiple people tied to a human trafficking, cyber fraud, and gambling syndicate.
Getting into it: According to Chinese media, 39 people tied to the notorious Ming crime family were handed down sentences ranging from execution to long prison terms for their roles in a sprawling criminal enterprise based in Myanmar’s Kokang region. Eleven individuals (including Ming Guoping, son of family patriarch Ming Xuechang, and granddaughter Ming Zhenzhen) were sentenced to death. Another five defendants received suspended death sentences, which may be commuted to life imprisonment after two years. In addition, 11 were sentenced to life in prison, while the remaining 12 received fixed terms of 5–24 years depending on their involvement.
The scheme: The Ming family ran one of Southeast Asia’s most entrenched syndicates, overseeing a multimillion-dollar operation built on telecom fraud, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. Since 2015, they set up fortified compounds (including the infamous Crouching Tiger Villa) across Laukkaing, the capital of Myanmar’s Kokang region. These sites functioned as scam centers where tens of thousands of people, mostly trafficked Chinese nationals, were forced to run online scams under brutal conditions. The family’s operations pulled in over $1.4 billion in illegalprofits and attracted a wide network of financial backers.
According to Chinese officials, victims were lured with fake job offers, smuggled across the border, and detained in guarded compounds. Once inside, they were forced to work 12–16 hours a day on scams ranging from cryptocurrency fraud to romance cons and phishing attacks. According to the court, at least 14 people were killed for trying to escape or disobey orders, including four shot by gang members in October 2023 while trying to prevent repatriations to China.
The human trafficking side was especially brutal. Survivors described being locked in cages, beaten, and denied food or medical care. One victim, Chinese model Yang Zheqi, was tricked by a fake casting call and imprisoned in a cage barely 10 square feet in size. Many others were teenagers or young adults promised legitimate work but trapped in scam compounds disguised as business parks.
The UN estimates more than 100,000 people have been trafficked into such centers across Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.
