Chinese courts have sentenced three members of a powerful Myanmar-based criminal group to death for running illegal casinos, online scam centres and other illicit businesses in the Kokang region along the China-Myanmar border.
The first-instance verdicts were announced on October 13 by courts in Fujian province, with Wei Huairen, head of the Wei family crime syndicate, among those handed the death penalty. Three other defendants received life sentences, while 55 were sentenced to prison terms of up to 24 years.
According to Xinhua, the group used its family influence and armed forces to establish scam compounds in Laukkaing, the main town of the Kokang region, from 2019. It provided armed protection to financiers and operated a network involved in telecommunications fraud, illegal gambling, extortion, prostitution and drug trafficking.
The courts said funds associated with the group's gambling and fraud operations exceeded 12.2 billion yuan, equivalent to around $1.7 billion.
The criminal network was also linked to deadly violence against workers in its scam compounds. Investigators found that members cooperated with fraud gangs to kill workers who refused to follow orders, resulting in the deaths of two Chinese citizens. Chen Dawei, another family member sentenced to death, was separately accused of using armed forces under his control to kill two other Chinese citizens.
Wei, also known as Wai San, operated a casino in Laukkaing and controlled a local border guard unit linked to Myanmar's military, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Myanmar police handed him over to Chinese authorities in January 2024.
The verdicts are part of Beijing's wider campaign against criminal networks operating in northern Myanmar, where online fraud compounds have flourished amid armed conflict and weak law enforcement. China launched a major cross-border crackdown in 2023, targeting several powerful families accused of running scam centres and illegal gambling operations in Kokang.
The Wei family was among the so-called four families targeted by the campaign. In January 2026, China executed 11 members of the Ming family convicted of involvement in telecom fraud operations. Four members of the Bai family were executed in February, following earlier court verdicts.
The latest sentences underscore China's determination to dismantle cross-border scam networks that have defrauded victims and drawn thousands of workers into coercive conditions. However, the continued emergence of large criminal operations in Myanmar's borderlands highlights the wider challenge of enforcing the law in territories affected by armed conflict and fragmented authority.
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