Two criminal gangs from northern Myanmar completely destroyed: China's supreme court

(ECNS) -- The two criminal gangs from Myanmar have been completely dismantled, the Supreme People's Court of China announced on Thursday.

The trials of the Ming and Bai criminal groups have concluded, with 39 persons sentenced to life imprisonment or harsher penalties. Among them, 16 individuals received the death sentence.

According to the court, by the end of 2025, courts across China had concluded more than 27,000 first-instance cases related to telecom fraud crimes linked to northern Myanmar, sentencing over 41,000 repatriated fraud suspects.

From 2021 to 2025, courts nationwide concluded more than 159,000 first-instance cases involving telecom and online fraud, with over 338,000 defendants sentenced.

Notably, although the number of concluded cases and convicted defendants rose significantly year on year — by 48.4 percent and 38.6 percent in 2023, and by 29.4 percent and 26.7 percent in 2024 — the growth rate slowed markedly in 2025, with increases of just 1.2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. This trend, the court said, underscores the effectiveness of judicial efforts to combat such crimes.

(By Gong Weiwei)