Scammers under leading telecom fraud syndicates in north Myanmar are handed over to Chinese custody, on January 30, 2024. Photo: VCG
The Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court in East China's Zhejiang Province held a public first-instance trial from Friday to Wednesday for 23 defendants from the Ming family suspected of involvement in telecom fraud. The group was linked to gambling and fraud-related transactions exceeding 10 billion yuan ($1.37 billion), leading to the deaths of 14 Chinese nationals and injuries to six others, according to CCTV News.
The defendants include Ming Guoping, Ming Zhenzhen, Bi Huijun, Ming Julan and Wu Hongming. The charges included fraud, intentional homicide, intentional injury, illegal detention, extortion, operating a casino, organizing prostitution, drug trafficking, organizing illegal border crossings, and infringing on citizens' personal information, the media report said.
Since 2015, the Ming crime syndicate, led by key family members such as Ming Xuechang (deceased), Ming Guoan (who is being dealt with in a separate case), Ming Guoping, and Ming Zhenzhen, was supported by other family members.
The group exploited its influence in Kokang, Myanmar, and used its family-controlled armed forces to set up multiple "industrial parks" in locations such as Laukkai and Chinshwehaw. These sites harbored financiers, including Wu Hongming, Luo Jianzhang and Jiang Ji, providing them with armed protection.
In collaboration with crime syndicates led by these financiers, the group engaged in cross-border telecom fraud, intentional homicide, intentional injury, illegal detention, casino operations, drug trafficking and organized prostitution.
The group was involved in gambling and fraud-related funds exceeding 10 billion yuan, resulting in the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to 6 others.
On October 20, 2023, to prevent individuals involved in fraud from being extradited to China, the Ming crime syndicate organized armed transport and surveillance operations, worked with financiers to relocate and conceal the suspects, and resorted to armed force and gunfire to stop them from escaping, resulting in multiple casualties. The prosecution sought to hold members of the Ming crime syndicate and affiliated criminal organizations criminally liable for 11 charges, including fraud and intentional homicide.
At the conclusion of the trial, the court adjourned the proceedings and will announce the verdict at a later date.
China's Ministry of Public Security announced in November 2023 that Ming Guoping, Ming Julan and Ming Zhenzhen, ringleaders of a telecom and online fraud criminal gang in northern Myanmar's Kokang Self-Administered Zone, have been arrested, and that the chief criminal of the gang Ming Xuechang has committed suicide, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Global Times
