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A Chinese judicial body has handed down death sentences to five leading figures of a well-known Myanmar mafia to capital punishment as Beijing maintains its crackdown on scam operations in Southeast Asian region.

Overall, 21 Bai family members and associates were convicted of fraud, murder, injury and additional offenses, reported a state media announcement published on the court portal.

The group is among a handful of syndicates that became dominant in the last two decades and transformed the impoverished remote area of the town into a profitable base of casinos and entertainment zones.

In recent years they turned to fraudulent schemes in which many of smuggled people, several of them Chinese, are ensnared, abused and compelled to scam victims in illegal enterprises worth billions of dollars.

Details of the Sentencing

Mafia head Bai Suocheng and his son Bai Yingcang were among the five figures sentenced to execution by the judicial body. Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and A fourth person were the remaining sentenced.

A couple of individuals of the Bai family mafia were handed delayed executions. Five were condemned to life imprisonment, while nine others were handed jail terms ranging from several years to two decades.

The Bais, who controlled their own private army, set up forty-one bases to accommodate their cyberscam activities and casinos, authorities stated.

Extent of Unlawful Schemes

These unlawful operations entailed exceeding twenty-nine billion local currency ($4.1bn; £3.1bn). These activities also led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens, the suicide of one and several injuries, official sources announced.

The severe sentences handed down by the judicial body are part of the Chinese initiative to eradicate the vast scam networks in the region - and send a firm signal to other illegal groups.

Background of the Groups

These groups rose to power in the 2000s with the help of a prominent figure - who is in charge of Myanmar's military government. He had wanted to bolster associates in Laukkaing after removing its earlier leader.

Among the groups, the Bais were "the most powerful", the son previously stated to official sources.

During that period, the clan was the dominant in both the government and armed arenas," he said in a report about the Bai family, broadcast on Chinese state media in July.

Within that report, a worker at their illegal operations described the mistreatment he had endured there: besides being assaulted, he had his fingernails removed with tools and a couple of his digits amputated with a tool.

Further Charges

Bai Yingcang is among those who were condemned to death recently. The individual has also been independently found guilty of conspiring to traffic and manufacture eleven tons of narcotics, state media announced.

Decline of the Groups

The families' downfall occurred in last year as situations changed.

Previously Chinese authorities has urged the regime to control fraudulent operations in the area.

Recently, the law enforcement announced arrest warrants for the most prominent members of such families.

Bai Suocheng, the Bai family's head, was included in the warlords who were extradited to China from the country in recent months.

For what reason is the Chinese government making such extensive work to target the clans?" a Chinese investigator said in the July film.

The purpose is to caution individuals, regardless of your identity, your base, as long as you engage in such terrible crimes affecting the nationals, you will pay the price."