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China executes 11 members of Myanmar's 'scam mafia' Ming family. Who were they?
Ming Xuechang, the head of the family, who had served as a member of the Myanmar state parliament, had killed himself in custody.
China on Thursday executed 11 members of a family who ran scams in Myanmar, including "key members" involved in telecom scam compounds.
The Ming family members were sentenced to death by a court in Zhejiang province in September 2025 for the charges of homicide, illegal detention, fraud and operating gambling dens.
"The executions were carried out by a court in Wenzhou city in east China's Zhejiang Province, after receiving the approval of the Supreme People's Court," state news agency Xinhua reported.
In September, five other defendants were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, and 11 were sentenced to life imprisonment. Another 12 defendants were awarded prison terms ranging from five to twenty-four years.
At the time, the court said that the defendants set up several compounds to house criminal gangs and provided armed protection for criminal acts -- including telecom fraud, operating casinos, drug trafficking, and organising prostitution -- since 2015.
The fraud crimes not only involved a whopping US$1.4 billion, but they also caused 14 deaths and wounded six others.
The Ming Family
The Ming family is one of the "four families" of northern Myanmar, mafia-like crime syndicates that run hundreds of compounds in internet fraud, drug production, and prostitution, among other crimes. Members of these families reportedly hold key positions in the local government and militia aligned with the country's ruling junta.
The family in focus in this case, led by Ming Xuechang, had a long-standing link to an infamous compound named 'Crouching Tiger Villa' in Kokang, an autonomous region on Myanmar's border with China, according to a CNN report.
Laukkaing, the capital of Kokang, was at the centre of the multi-billion-dollar scam industry of Myanmar. Complex online schemes were used to defraud strangers, and the proceeds from these illicit acts led to the transformation of the impoverished border town into a bright casino city.
Following years of complaints by families of trafficked workers, China reportedly launched a crackdown in 2023. And in November that year, Beijing issued arrest warrants for the members of the Ming family, accusing them of fraud, murder, and trafficking, placing rewards of between $14,000 and $70,000 for their capture.
Ming Xuechang, the family head, who had served as a member of the Myanmar state parliament, had killed himself in custody.
His son, Ming Guoping, a leader in the junta-aligned Kokang Border Guard Force, his daughter Ming Julan, and his granddaughter Ming Zhenzhen were also arrested.
