China Executes 11 Gang Members Who Lured Kenyans to Myanmar

China has executed 11 members of a criminal syndicate convicted of running a large-scale online fraud and illegal gambling operation from Myanmar, following approval by the Supreme People’s Court.

China’s judiciary confirmed that the executions were carried out in Zhejiang province after final appeals were rejected. The defendants were senior figures in the Ming family syndicate, a criminal organisation that operated scam centres in Myanmar’s Kokang region and targeted victims across multiple countries.

Court findings showed that the group generated more than US$1.4 billion through telecom fraud and online gambling platforms, many of which were presented as legitimate dating or entertainment services. Victims included elderly people in China, several of whom lost their life savings. Judicial records linked the crimes to severe psychological harm and, in some cases, suicide.

Investigators also found that the syndicate relied on trafficked labour to staff its operations. Workers were recruited with false promises of lawful employment and later detained in guarded compounds, where they were forced to conduct fraud activities. Authorities confirmed that foreign nationals were among those coerced, including Kenyan citizens rescued during joint regional operations.

The court determined that the group used violence to maintain control. Evidence presented at trial connected the syndicate to the deaths of at least 14 Chinese nationals. In one incident in October 2023, four people were killed while attempting to escape from a compound. Charges included homicide, fraud, illegal detention and organising unlawful gambling businesses.

The operations were based in Myanmar’s Kokang region, an area long associated with armed groups and limited state control. Ongoing conflict since Myanmar’s 2021 military coup has weakened governance in several border regions, allowing criminal organisations to expand activities with little interference.

Chinese authorities said similar scam networks continue to operate in parts of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. These groups exploit gaps in law enforcement and target victims abroad while drawing in trafficked workers from Asia and Africa.

Kenya’s State Department for Diaspora Affairs reported in December that 119 Kenyan nationals had been repatriated from Myanmar, with almost 200 others still awaiting assistance. Financial crime investigators have warned that African countries are increasingly affected by these networks, both as sources of victims 

Chinese officials described the executions as part of a broader effort to suppress crimes that threaten financial security and public safety.