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A Chinese judicial body has handed down death sentences to five leading members of a notorious Myanmar mafia to capital punishment as Beijing maintains its campaign on fraudulent operations in the region.

In all, 21 Bai family figures and partners were convicted of fraud, homicide, injury and other crimes, reported a state media report published on the judicial portal.

The group is among a handful of organized crime groups that rose to power in the 2000s and changed the impoverished remote area of the town into a lucrative base of gambling establishments and nightlife areas.

Recently they pivoted to scams in which numerous of illegally moved workers, a large number of them Chinese, are trapped, mistreated and obligated to defraud targets in illegal operations valued at billions.

Information of the Judgment

Mafia leader the patriarch and his offspring Bai Yingcang were among the five individuals given to capital punishment by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the remaining convicted.

Two individuals of the clan mafia were given conditional death penalties. Several were condemned to permanent incarceration, while nine others were given prison sentences varying from several years to two decades.

The clan, who commanded their own armed group, set up forty-one compounds to host their online fraud activities and casinos, government reported.

Magnitude of Unlawful Operations

Such criminal operations included over 29bn Chinese yuan ($4.1bn; £3.1bn). These activities also led to the demise of several from China individuals, the self-inflicted death of one and multiple assaults, reports stated.

The strict punishments issued by the court are part of the Chinese initiative to eliminate the vast fraud rings in South East Asia - and issue a firm warning to other unlawful groups.

Context of the Groups

These groups rose to power in the early 2000s with the help of a prominent figure - who currently heads the country's regime. The leader had intended to bolster partners in Laukkaing after removing its former leader.

Among the clans, the Bais were "the most powerful", the son previously informed official sources.

"At that time, we was the most powerful in both the political and military arenas," the individual remarked in a documentary about the Bai family, shown on national media in the summer.

Within that documentary, a individual at their their scam centres described the harm he had experienced there: in addition to being assaulted, he had his fingernails yanked out with instruments and a couple of his fingers severed with a tool.

Additional Allegations

Bai Yingcang is among those who were given to execution in the latest ruling. He has additionally been separately convicted of conspiring to trade and make eleven tons of illegal drugs, official sources stated.

End of the Clans

The families' downfall came in last year as situations changed.

For years Chinese authorities has pressed the local government to control fraudulent activities in Laukkaing.

Recently, the law enforcement announced detention orders for the key members of such groups.

The patriarch, the Bai family's leader, was among the individuals who were extradited to Beijing from Myanmar in the beginning of the year.

For what reason is the state making so much effort to target the groups?" a expert commented in the July film.

The purpose is to caution groups, regardless of who you are, your base, if you engage in these serious acts targeting the nationals, you will face consequences."