On Monday this week, Chinese authorities sentenced to death 16 members of "The Four Families" for the multitude of crimes they committed while operating scam compounds in Northern Myanmar near the Chinese border. This was the culmination of an investigation that has been on-going since July 2023 and that we have been tracking primarily through Chinese Telegram channels that discuss the scam compounds. Thirty-nine criminals were sentenced in the hearing. Eleven will be immediately executed, while five others have a two year reprieve, during which their sentences might be commuted to life in prison. Eleven more received life sentences, while the rest received sentences of between five and twenty-four years. But who are The Four Families? Read on . . .
The Incident at Crouching Tiger Villa - October 20, 2023
In Myanmar this is referred to as the "1020 Incident." Crouching Tiger Villa, which is also called "Wohu Mountain Villa" was a telecom scam compound that covered 200 acres, and encompassed hotels, shopping malls, and buildings full of high tech equipment. Ming Xuechang, who was the richest man in the Kokang Autonomous Region had a private army of 2,000 men to help patrol and protect the area. On October 20th a large group of prisoners, forced to work as cyber scammers, rioted and attempted to escape. In the ensuing chaos, Ming's troops began to fire into the crowd, killing at least 60 (some say 70.) Rumors indicate that some of those killed were undercover Chinese police officers, but some say this is based on the plot of a Chinese movie with a similar theme.
As a result, on November 12, 2023, the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security issued a reward notice, offering a cash incentive for four leaders of the Myanmar Kokang group headed by Ming. Within just a few days, all four had been arrested!
Myanmar hands over 10 crime bosses to the Chinese - January 30, 2024
On December 10, 2023, China issued arrest warrants for Bai Suocheng and ten other key leaders of the Kokang Autonomous Region's telecom and internet fraud rings. Working with Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, six of the ten were arrested and on January 30, 2024, sent to China to answer for their crimes.
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| These are the ten in the China Warrant according to the Irawaddy |
Two leaders of the Bai Family were among those sent back to China. The Bai family operated many casinos around Laukkaing, especially "the Silver Palace." They had many construction and logistics firm that served their own needs and those of the other families. Bai's most famous brand was the "Yum! Brands" which operated several other casinos that served as scam compounds as well.
Bai Suocheng -白所成
Bai Yingcang - 白应苍
The Wei family was led by Wei Chaoren ( 魏朝仁 ), operating chiefly from Kongyang Township. They were significant players in telecom infrastructure and provided SIM Pools for the use of the families. The Henry Group was the chief company of Wei Chaoren, as well as The Xiaozhu.
Arrested:
Wei Huairen - 魏怀仁
Remaining at large from the Wei family were:
Wei Rong
Wei Qingsong
The Liu family also operated from Kongyang and other nearby border towns. The Liu family came to wealth in the mining industry and control most of the mining in Kokang. They were significant players in money laundering. Liu's primary casinos were operated under the name "Fully Light Group." Liu Guoxi has also been linked to organ trafficking. Liu Zhengxiang was the founder of the Fulilai Group back in 1992 which operates a number of casinos in the area. His predecessor, Liu Abao, was known to be a significant drug trafficker.
Arrested:
Liu Zhengxiang - 刘正祥
Liu Zhengmao - 刘正茂
Remaining at large from the Liu family was:
Liu Zhengmao
Ministry of Public Security - May 27, 2024
Ministry of Public Security spokesman Li Guozhong gave a major update on the strategy "Four Specializations and Two Joint Efforts" and their results. He said that over the past five years, they had worked 1.945 million telecom network fraud cases and that for eight months in a row, they had significant declines in fraud as a result of their efforts. The operation, which began in July 2023, had specifically targeted the "Four Major Families" ( “四大家族” ) in Kokang and had brought to justice members of the Bai, Wei, Liu, and Ming families.
In this press conference, Li mentions that Ming Zhenzhen ( 明珍珍 ) had also been taken into custody.
Myanmar's Cooperation with China's Ministry of Public Security
September 28, 2024 - The Ministry of Public Security announced that they had made key arrests in Yangon and Mandalay, and that 20 "telecom network fraud crime group leaders and key members" had been arrested and were being handed over the China. These included Chen Mouwei ( 陈某卫 ) and Yang Mou ( 杨某 ). The press release at that time said that Chen and Yang had "relied on the Four Great Families" of Myanmar's Kokang region, as well as criminal groups "such as Xu Laofa ( 徐老发 )" in order to "control armed forces, set up telecom fraud dens, and carry out telecom network fraud crimes targeting Chinese citizens. They were also said to be suspected of intentional homicide, intentional injury and other serious violent crimes.
The Crouching Tiger Villa arrests - December 30, 2024
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| "Tracking down and investigating the truth! The story of the investigation into the Mingjia criminal group in northern Myanmar. Chinese people are being "traded" in northern Myanmar. |
On December 30, 2024, China's Supreme People's Procuratorate published the first round of charges under the headline "Exposing the Northern Myanmar Mingjia Criminal Group's Fraud, Murder, and Drug-related Activities" ( 揭露缅北明家犯罪集团诈骗杀人涉毒解密数宗罪 ). At that time, the Wenzhou Municipal court in Zhejiang Province charged 39 defendants, calling the Mingjia criminal group "one of the four major families in northern Myanmar.
They interviewed many victims, who told stories of the promises made to them by the "snakeheads" (a Chinese term for a human trafficker) and the reality they faced when they arrived. One victim, Li Mouqian, from Guangdong, was sold to the Ming family and told he could buy his freedom for 300,000 Yuan. At Crouching Tiger Villa, he was expected to make 100 phone calls per day and to land three new victims of cyber scams each day. If he failed to do so, he was beaten. When he tried to escape with a colleague, he was beaten with steal pipes and his accomplice in the escape was beaten to death.
The Ming family at that time was led by Ming Zhenzhen (明珍珍 ), the granddaughter of their founder Ming Xuechang (明学昌). Xuechang had been a part of Myanmar's Shan State legislature, representing the Kokang Self-Administered Zone as a member of the Union Solidarity and Development Party. He was also in charge of the local police. He controlled a personal army of at least 2,000 men. During a previous cross-border police action against Ming Xuechang, he shot himself rather than being captured, and died in the hospital leaving his granddaughter in charge.
Between July 2023 and December 2024, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security managed to repatriate 53,000 telecom and internet fraud suspects from northern Myanmar.
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