Documentary shows operations' brutality, examines networks and investigations

A three-part documentary, jointly produced by the Ministry of Public Security and China Media Group, has revealed the scale and brutality of telecom fraud operations in northern Myanmar, tracing how Chinese police dismantled criminal groups, pursued suspects across borders and built cases that led to landmark convictions.

Titled The Demise of Telecom Fraud in Northern Myanmar, the documentary aired from Monday to Wednesday and examines fraud networks in areas including Wa State, Kokang, Muse and Myawaddy, as well as the investigations that followed.

Years of armed fragmentation and weak governance allowed the industry to expand rapidly. Fraud compounds lured Chinese nationals with promises of quick wealth, but many became trapped by violence, debt and coercion.

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At the height of the fraud boom, Mong Pawk in Wa State alone had 265 fraud sites involving nearly 60,000 people, the documentary revealed.

One returnee, surnamed Tang, said in the documentary that he entered northern Myanmar illegally in 2021 and was taken to a fraud compound in Wa State. After failing to meet targets, he was forced to sign a 70,000-yuan ($10,400) IOU, was repeatedly sold between compounds and assaulted. When infected wounds left him unable to walk, he agreed to sell a kidney to repay his debt. He later showed the surgical scar on camera.

Chinese police intensified their crackdown in 2023. On Sept 26 that year, Bao Junfeng, deputy commander of the United Wa State Army, was arrested in Kunming, Yunnan province, on suspicion of providing armed protection for fraud operations.

The investigation then turned to Kokang, where four major family-based criminal groups had built networks linking political influence, the armed forces and fraud businesses.

A shooting on Oct 20, 2023, at compounds controlled by the Ming family proved to be a turning point. Armed personnel opened fire on people trying to escape, killing four and injuring four. Investigators cross-checked more than 1,000 witness statements and later entered fraud compounds in Kokang under a China-Myanmar law-enforcement cooperation mechanism.

At a burial site, investigators found three decomposed bodies. Forensic examinations confirmed that all three had died from gunshot wounds.

The evidence accelerated action against the Ming family. China issued arrest warrants for four leading members on Nov 12, 2023. Three were captured and handed over to China four days later, while Ming Xuechang, the leading figure of the Ming family, died by suicide.

The shooting also exposed broader violence across the fraud network. The documentary said the Wei family combined political influence and protection from armed forces to control fraud compounds. Chen Dawei, a key member of the Wei family, allegedly killed randomly selected victims as a "pledge of loyalty" to cement ties with fraud financiers.

In another case, a scar on a returned suspect led police to an Aug 5, 2023, mass escape attempt at the Jinxin compound, where armed guards killed six people and injured eight.

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With the cooperation of Myanmar authorities, six armed personnel involved in the shooting and burial, along with compound financier Lin Jian, were arrested between January and July 2024. By Jan 30, 2024, other core members of the four major families had also been returned to China.

On Sept 29, 2025, a court in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, sentenced 11 defendants from the four families to death and five others to death with a two-year reprieve. The case involved 12 homicides and 16 deaths.

The documentary highlighted the case of She Zhijiang to show how the new cluster developed. He was arrested in Bangkok in August 2022, and Thailand's appeals court upheld his extradition to China in November 2025.

Contact the writers at yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn