Wenzhou Court Sentences Ming Syndicate Leaders

China’s Wenzhou Court sentenced 11 leaders of the Ming crime syndicate to death for running billion-dollar scam and trafficking networks from Myanmar, marking a major step in Beijing’s crackdown on cross-border cybercrime (image source)

A Zhejiang provincial court on Monday handed down heavy penalties, including multiple death sentences, to senior members of the Ming family crime syndicate accused of running large-scale scam, gambling, and trafficking operations from northern Myanmar. Prosecutors said the group’s criminal enterprise caused widespread financial losses and multiple deaths across several countries.

The Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court found senior figures in the Ming clan guilty of organising and leading a cross-border criminal enterprise. Eleven defendants received immediate death sentences, while others were given suspended death sentences, life imprisonment, and fixed-term sentences for crimes including telecom fraud, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, intentional homicide, and illegal detention, according to court statements and Chinese state media reports.

Judges said the syndicate’s operations — centred in Kokang and Laukkaing in northern Myanmar — generated illicit proceeds estimated at more than ¥10 billion (about US$1.4 billion). The network relied on armed enforcers to detain workers and victims in fortified compounds where escape attempts often ended in violence or death, a detail repeatedly emphasized in the court’s written findings.

Chinese authorities launched the case after issuing arrest warrants in 2023 and coordinating cross-border operations that led to the transfer of suspects into China for prosecution. The court cited documentary, witness, and survivor testimony describing scam centres that used forced labour to conduct romance-investment and telecom scams. Prosecutors also linked the syndicate to financial backers and protection networks that profited from the criminal activities.

Survivors and investigative reports detailed brutal conditions inside the compounds, where captives were forced to meet daily fraud quotas under constant threat of violence. International media and non-profit watchdogs have drawn parallels between the Ming syndicate and similar scam parks across Southeast Asia, which exploit trafficked workers and defraud overseas victims.

“The syndicate used armed force and established fortified compounds to run an extensive scam and trafficking network,” — Wenzhou court statement.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has repeatedly warned that organised scam networks in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia have caused tens of billions in losses regionally. The Ming verdict follows several high-profile Chinese operations earlier in 2025 that rescued thousands of workers from such compounds.

Analysts say the ruling marks a significant legal milestone in Beijing’s campaign against cross-border cybercrime. However, they caution that appeals and international scrutiny are likely to follow. Observers will watch whether the verdict effectively dismantles remaining scam operations in the Kokang region or merely pushes them elsewhere. The case also raises questions about due process, regional cooperation, and how governments address the trafficking and corruption that enabled the Ming network’s rise.