Five members of a 21-person family-run syndicate based in northern Myanmar were sentenced to death by a Chinese court on Tuesday for multiple charges, including crimes that resulted in the deaths of six Chinese nationals.

Two other syndicate members received the death penalty with a two-year reprieve, while five were given life imprisonment. The remaining nine members were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 20 years, along with corresponding supplementary penalties such as fines, confiscation of property and deportation, according to the ruling announced by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong province.

The court found the defendants guilty of 12 crimes, including fraud, intentional homicide and intentional injury. The court explained the sentences were handed down based on each individual's level of criminal involvement, the specific circumstances of their offenses and the measure of harm caused to society.

Following an investigation, the court said the syndicate, headed by Bay Saw Chain and Bay Yin Chin, used its influence and armed forces in Myanmar's Kokang region to set up 41 compounds through independent and joint development.

Having persuaded others to provide funds and armed support, they worked with these financiers and weapons dealers to carry out criminal activities, including telecom fraud, intentional killings, extortion, kidnapping and forcing people into prostitution, the court noted.

The syndicate's offenses led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals, the suicide of another Chinese national and injuries to several others. The amount of money involved in its gambling and fraud operations exceeded 29 billion yuan ($4 billion).Bay Yin Chin also colluded with others to smuggle and manufacture approximately 11 metric tons of methamphetamine, it added.

The syndicate was found to have committed widespread telecom scams targeting Chinese people since 2015.

In November 2023, China's Ministry of Public Security instructed the Shenzhen police to handle the case, and ringleaders Bay Saw Chain and Bay Yin Chin were soon apprehended and handed over to Chinese police.

In recent years, with intensified joint law enforcement cooperation and anti-fraud operations between China and Myanmar, a number of cases have entered the judicial system. For instance, in late September, a court in Zhejiang province convicted 39 members of another family-run syndicate based in northern Myanmar of 14 offenses, including fraud and intentional homicide. Among them, 11 defendants were sentenced to death.

Data released by the Ministry of Public Security in July showed Chinese police had solved nearly 1.74 million cases of telecom fraud during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period. The joint operations dismantled more than 2,000 overseas fraud centers and led to the capture of over 80,000 suspects.