The Ming family, notorious for being one of northern Myanmar’s infamous four crime syndicates, has been accused of operating numerous compounds involved in internet fraud, prostitution, and drug production. Members of this syndicate reportedly held significant positions within the local government and militia that support Myanmar’s ruling junta.

Recently, 11 individuals linked to this family were executed after being convicted of serious crimes such as homicide, illegal detention, and fraud, as reported by the Xinhua news agency. Their death sentences were handed down in September.

Two of those convicted sought to overturn their sentences by appealing to China’s highest judicial authority, the Supreme People’s Court. However, Xinhua reported that the court maintained the initial verdict.

The Ming crime family, led by Ming Xuechang, was long associated with the notorious Crouching Tiger Villa, located in Kokang—a self-administered region on the border between Myanmar and China.

At its height, the syndicate employed around 10,000 individuals engaged in a variety of scams and criminal activities, according to reports from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Kokang’s capital Laukkaing was at the heart of a multibillion-dollar scam industry that took root in lawless pockets of Myanmar, where trafficked workers were used to defraud strangers with sophisticated online schemes.

After years of complaints by relatives of trafficked scam centre workers and growing international media attention, Beijing cracked down on the compounds in 2023.

That November, China issued arrest warrants for members of the family, accusing them of fraud, murder and trafficking, and posted rewards of between $14,000 ($AUD19,859) and $70,000 ($AUD99,297) for their capture.

Family head Ming Xuechang, who had also served as member of a Myanmar state parliament, later killed himself while in custody, Chinese state media reported at the time.

His son Ming Guoping, who was a leader in the junta-aligned Kokang Border Guard Force, and his granddaughter Ming Zhenzhen were among those executed, Xinhua reported yesterday.

Before they were executed, they met with close relatives, the report said.

The Ming family syndicate also conspired with the leader of another syndicate, Wu Hongming, who was also executed, to intentionally kill, injure and illegally detain scam workers, resulting in the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens, according to Xinhua.

In one incident in October 2023, four people were killed when members of the group allegedly opened fire on people at a scam compound. In a report into the shooting, Chinese state media CCTV reported the group were transferring workers from the cyberfraud park under armed guard after being tipped off that police were planning a raid of the compound.

Scamming gangs in Southeast Asia steal more than $60 billion a year, according to the US Congress-founded United States Institute of Peace.

In Myanmar, scam compounds have been shielded by corruption and lawlessness that has long saturated the country’s border regions.

The criminal syndicates and the armed groups hosting them have also exploited almost five years of devastating civil war to expand their business.

When asked about the executions yesterday, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said Beijing would continue to intensify efforts to “eradicate the scourge of gambling and fraud.”

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