Myanmar police hand over five telecom and internet fraud suspects to Chinese police at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar, August 26, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

From January to November 2023, a total of 391,000 cases of telecom and internet fraud were resolved nationwide, and the number of fraud cases has dropped continuously since August, China's Ministry of Public Security said on Friday.

The ministry in 2023 launched a series of law enforcement campaigns targeting telecom and internet fraud to crack down on criminal activity. A total of 79,000 suspects were apprehended, including 263 people who financed, led, or were in charge of the relevant activities.

The ministry has dispatched working teams to countries including Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia to participate in international law enforcement missions. Multiple overseas criminal dens were destroyed and more than 3,000 suspects were captured, according to the ministry.

In face of the grave situation of telecom and online fraud crimes in northern Myanmar, the public security authorities have continuously launched multiple rounds of anti-fraud operations to resolutely root out fraud dens and those involved in the fraud.

A total of 41,000 suspects have been handed over to Chinese police with the cooperation of Myanmar, said the ministry.

Telecom fraud ringleaders Ming Guoping, Ming Julan and Ming Zhenzhen were captured and handed over to Chinese public security authorities in November 2023 following cooperation with Myanmar. Ming Xuechang, one of the telecom fraud ringleaders, committed suicide.

The ministry, along with other related departments, drafted the "joint punishment measures for telecom and internet fraud and related crimes," and sought public opinion on the matter in order to implement the anti-telecom and online fraud law, in November 2023.

The draft includes 19 articles covering six aspects, namely punishment principles, punishment targets, punishment measures, punishment categories, punishment procedures, as well as appeal and verification, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

It clearly defines the scope of punishment for individuals and organizations, and specifies measures for financial and telecommunications network penalties and other penalties.

The public security authorities will always maintain a high-pressure stance in cracking down on telecom and online fraud, and will continue to organize special operations and strengthen law enforcement cooperation, according to the ministry.

Global Times