China Executes 11 Members of Myanmar-Based Telecom Fraud Gangs

BEIJING, Jan 29 (Reuters) — China has executed 11 criminals linked to gangs operating in northern Myanmar, including key figures involved in telecom fraud, state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday.

The individuals were sentenced to death in September, with the executions carried out by a court in Wenzhou, located in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. Authorities did not release further details about the cases.

China has intensified cooperation with Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia in recent years to dismantle sprawling scam centre operations across the region. According to experts on transnational organised crime, these efforts have led to the repatriation of tens of thousands of suspects.

China’s Ministry of Public Security said more than 7,600 Chinese nationals suspected of online gambling and telecom fraud were returned last year from Myawaddy, a Myanmar town near the Thai border.

Earlier this month, Cambodia extradited Chinese tycoon Chen Zhi, whom U.S. authorities allege heads a conglomerate serving as a front for a multibillion-dollar cyber scam network.