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A Chinese judicial body has handed down death sentences to several prominent members of a notorious Myanmar organized crime group to capital punishment as Chinese authorities persists in its crackdown on fraudulent networks in Southeast Asian region.

Altogether, 21 Bai family individuals and collaborators were sentenced of scams, murder, injury and various crimes, reported a official document published on the judicial website.

This clan is one of a handful of organized crime groups that rose to power in the early 2000s and transformed the poor backwater town of Laukkaing into a lucrative base of gambling establishments and nightlife areas.

Over the past few years they turned to scams in which thousands of smuggled individuals, a large number of them Chinese, are ensnared, abused and obligated to defraud targets in unlawful operations valued at billions of dollars.

Specifics of the Verdict

Mafia leader the patriarch and his offspring the younger Bai were among the several men given to death by the judicial body. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the remaining convicted.

Two figures of the Bai family syndicate were received conditional death penalties. Several were condemned to life in prison, while more figures were given prison terms varying from several years to two decades.

The clan, who controlled their own armed group, set up 41 facilities to host their cyberscam schemes and casinos, officials stated.

Scale of Criminal Operations

Such unlawful enterprises involved more than twenty-nine billion Chinese yuan ($4.1 billion; £3.1bn). They also led to the deaths of several from China nationals, the suicide of one and multiple assaults, official sources stated.

The harsh sentences handed down by the judicial body are within China's campaign to eliminate the vast fraud operations in Southeast Asia - and deliver a firm signal to further unlawful syndicates.

Background of the Families

Such groups gained influence in the 2000s with the assistance of a prominent figure - who currently heads Myanmar's regime. He had intended to support partners in the town after removing its former ruler.

Among the clans, the this family were "the most powerful", the son previously told state media.

During that period, we was the most powerful in each of the government and armed circles," the individual said in a documentary about the Bai family, broadcast on national media in July.

During the documentary, a employee at one of fraud facilities narrated the abuse he had endured there: in addition to being hit, he had his nails yanked out with instruments and a couple of his digits severed with a blade.

Further Allegations

Bai Yingcang is among those who were given to execution in the latest ruling. He has additionally been separately convicted of conspiring to traffic and manufacture 11 tonnes of illegal drugs, reports announced.

End of the Groups

The families' end occurred in recent times as situations changed.

For years Beijing has pressed the local government to limit scam schemes in the area.

Last year, the Chinese police issued arrest warrants for the key individuals of these groups.

Bai Suocheng, the Bai family's patriarch, was included in the figures who were extradited to Beijing from Myanmar in the beginning of the year.

For what reason is the authorities making significant resources to target the clans?" a Chinese investigator stated in the summer report.

"It's to warn other people, regardless of your identity, your base, as long as you carry out such heinous crimes targeting the citizens, you will face consequences."