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One Chinese judicial body has handed down death sentences to a group of top individuals of a notorious Burmese mafia to execution as Chinese authorities maintains its crackdown on scam activities in Southeast Asian region.

Altogether, twenty-one Bai family individuals and collaborators were sentenced of fraud, homicide, assault and additional crimes, reported a state media document released on the court portal.

The group is one of a small number of mafias that became dominant in the early 2000s and transformed the underdeveloped isolated region of the town into a profitable hub of casinos and red-light districts.

Recently they shifted to illegal operations in which thousands of trafficked workers, many of them Chinese, are ensnared, mistreated and compelled to cheat targets in criminal enterprises valued at billions of dollars.

Specifics of the Judgment

Mafia leader Bai Suocheng and his son the younger Bai were among the five individuals condemned to capital punishment by the court in Shenzhen. Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and A fourth person were the remaining sentenced.

A couple of members of the Bai family mafia were handed suspended death sentences. Five were given to permanent incarceration, while nine others were given jail terms ranging from a period of 3-20 years.

The clan, who controlled their own militia, set up 41 facilities to house their digital scam activities and gambling houses, government stated.

Extent of Unlawful Activities

Such criminal activities entailed over 29bn Chinese yuan ($4.1 billion; £3.1bn). They also led to the fatalities of several from China individuals, the suicide of one and numerous assaults, official sources announced.

The strict sentences issued by the court are a component of the Chinese effort to remove the vast fraud rings in Southeast Asia - and send a stern signal to further unlawful syndicates.

Context of the Families

These groups became dominant in the 2000s with the support of a prominent figure - who now leads Myanmar's regime. The leader had wanted to prop up partners in the town after removing its earlier ruler.

Among the groups, the this family were "the top", the son earlier told state media.

Back then, the clan was the leading in each of the political and armed circles," he said in a documentary about the clan, broadcast on national media in the summer.

During the report, a worker at one of fraud facilities described the abuse he had experienced there: besides being beaten, he had his nails removed with instruments and a couple of his digits cut off with a blade.

Further Charges

Bai Yingcang is included in those who were condemned to execution this week. He has additionally been independently sentenced of organizing to traffic and produce 11 tonnes of illegal drugs, official sources reported.

Decline of the Groups

The families' fall came in recent times as circumstances altered.

Previously Chinese authorities has encouraged the Myanmar junta to control fraudulent activities in Laukkaing.

Recently, the authorities released detention orders for the key individuals of these families.

Bai Suocheng, the Bai family's patriarch, was among the figures who were transferred to Beijing from Myanmar in recent months.

For what reason is the Chinese government putting such extensive work to pursue the clans?" a official said in the summer report.

The purpose is to caution other people, no matter your position, your base, when you commit these heinous acts against the Chinese people, you will pay the price."