Myanmar group prosecuted for fraud

Twenty-one key figures of a group that had long been swindling Chinese nationals in northern Myanmar have been prosecuted, the latest development in the country's ongoing crackdown on telecom and online fraud.

The People's Procuratorate of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, has recently filed charges against a group led by Bay Saw Chain and Bay Yin Chin. These include fraud, running casinos, blackmailing, intentional homicide, intentional injury, kidnapping, and making and selling drugs, the People's Procuratorate of Guangdong Province said in a statement on Friday.

Bay Saw Chain and Bay Yin Chin, leaders of the "Bay family" criminal group based in Kokang, northern Myanmar, relied on armed groups to engage in telecom and online fraud, and would mainly target residents in China.

The "Bay family" is one of several major fraud groups in northern Myanmar which were dismantled during joint law enforcement operations by China and Myanmar.

According to details released by the Ministry of Public Security on Friday, the criminal group is suspected of involvement in activities that led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens, and were found to be linked to over 31,000 telecom fraud cases that involved over 10.6 billion yuan ($1.48 billion). They were also found to have been engaged in the production and trafficking of around 11 metric tons of drugs.

The ministry said the group had taken advantage of its influence in Kokang to build 41 large-scale compounds, and attracted a large number of gangs to the compounds to conduct telecom fraud and illegal gambling operations targeting Chinese nationals.

The group also recruited and lured individuals in China into crossing the border illegally to engage in gambling and fraudulent schemes, the ministry said.

It noted that the group established the "Kokang entertainment management committee" and raked in huge illegal gains in the form of rent and security fees among others. It used the illicit funds to support the armed groups that protected its dens of vice.

The group was also found to have endorsed violent enforcement tactics, including abuse, assault and even murder of lower-level telecom fraud operatives.

In November 2023, the ministry required Shenzhen police to investigate the "Bay family" case. Police in Dalian, Liaoning province, later issued public wanted notices for leaders of the criminal group.

In January 2024, under the China-Myanmar law enforcement and security cooperation mechanism, Myanmar handed over Bay Saw Chain and Bay Yin Chin to Chinese authorities.

Till date, as many as 36 key suspects involved in the "Bay family" case have been captured.

To get a clear picture of the group's crimes against Chinese nationals, Chinese police traveled to northern Myanmar five times, collecting evidence such as the victims' remains and tools used to make drugs, with the support of their Myanmar counterparts, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, police officers from Shenzhen were also mobilized to gather evidence from fraud victims nationwide, it added.