China sentenced five people to death on Tuesday for their involvement in a violent criminal gang with fraud operations in Myanmar's Kokang region along the border, state media reported.

Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar's lawless borderlands, staffed by foreigners — many of them Chinese — who often say they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry.

Beijing has stepped up cooperation with Southeast Asian nations in recent months to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to China.

Alleged scam center workers from China, who fled to Thailand amid raids on the scam compounds in Myanmar, board a plane at Mae Sot Airport in Thailand for the trip back to China, Feb. 21, 2025. Valeria Mongel

See Full Page