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A Chinese judicial body has sentenced several leading individuals of an infamous Burmese mafia to execution as Chinese authorities continues its campaign on scam networks in South East Asia.

In all, twenty-one Bai family members and associates were sentenced of fraud, homicide, assault and additional crimes, reported a state media report published on the court portal.

This clan is one of a small number of mafias that rose to power in the early 2000s and transformed the impoverished backwater town of Laukkaing into a lucrative center of gambling establishments and entertainment zones.

In recent years they pivoted to fraudulent schemes in which thousands of smuggled workers, several of them from China, are caught, harmed and forced to cheat targets in criminal operations valued at huge sums.

Specifics of the Judgment

Mafia boss the patriarch and his offspring Bai Yingcang were included in the group of figures sentenced to death by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and A fourth person were the other three convicted.

A couple of members of the clan syndicate were given conditional death penalties. Five were sentenced to life imprisonment, while more figures were handed prison sentences varying from a period of 3-20 years.

The Bais, who led their own militia, created 41 bases to house their cyberscam schemes and casinos, officials reported.

Magnitude of Unlawful Operations

Such unlawful enterprises included more than 29bn local currency ($4.1 billion; over three billion pounds). These activities also led to the deaths of several Chinese individuals, the suicide of an individual and numerous assaults, state media announced.

The strict penalties issued by the judicial body are within China's campaign to remove the extensive scam networks in South East Asia - and send a stern signal to additional unlawful groups.

Background of the Clans

These families became dominant in the 2000s with the support of a prominent figure - who is in charge of Myanmar's regime. He had aimed to bolster partners in Laukkaing after ousting its former ruler.

Within the clans, the Bais were "absolutely number one", the son earlier informed state media.

Back then, our Bai family was the most powerful in each of the government and military spheres," the individual said in a film about the Bai family, aired on Chinese state media in the summer.

During the report, a individual at a fraud facilities recalled the mistreatment he had endured there: in addition to being hit, he had his nails yanked out with tools and two of his fingers amputated with a blade.

More Charges

The son is among those who were given to death in the latest ruling. The individual has additionally been separately sentenced of organizing to smuggle and make a large quantity of illegal drugs, reports announced.

Decline of the Families

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

Previously Chinese authorities has encouraged the local government to limit fraudulent operations in Laukkaing.

Recently, the authorities released legal actions for the key individuals of these clans.

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

"Why is the authorities putting such extensive work to pursue the clans?" a Chinese investigator said in the July film.

The purpose is to caution groups, no matter your position, your base, as long as you commit such heinous offenses targeting the Chinese people, you will be held accountable."