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One Chinese judicial body has condemned five leading individuals of an infamous Burmese mafia to execution as Beijing persists in its campaign on scam activities in the region.

Altogether, 21 clan members and associates were convicted of fraud, murder, assault and additional crimes, stated a state media announcement published on the judicial website.

The group is among a small number of syndicates that rose to power in the 2000s and changed the underdeveloped isolated region of the town into a profitable hub of casinos and entertainment zones.

Over the past few years they turned to scams in which many of illegally moved people, many of them from China, are caught, mistreated and forced to cheat victims in criminal operations estimated at huge sums.

Details of the Sentencing

Syndicate leader the patriarch and his son the younger Bai were included in the group of individuals sentenced to capital punishment by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and A fourth person were the other three sentenced.

Two members of the Bai family mafia were received suspended death sentences. Five were sentenced to permanent incarceration, while more figures were received jail terms varying from several years to two decades.

The Bais, who led their own private army, set up forty-one bases to accommodate their digital scam activities and casinos, government reported.

Extent of Illegal Schemes

Such criminal activities included over 29bn Chinese yuan ($4.1 billion; £3.1bn). They also caused the fatalities of several from China citizens, the self-inflicted death of one and multiple assaults, official sources stated.

The harsh sentences handed down by the judicial body are within the Chinese effort to eliminate the large fraud rings in the region - and deliver a stern signal to other criminal syndicates.

Context of the Families

These families became dominant in the early 2000s with the support of a military leader - who now leads Myanmar's military government. The leader had aimed to bolster partners in the town after removing its previous ruler.

Among the clans, the Bais were "absolutely number one", the son earlier informed state media.

Back then, we was the dominant in both the political and military circles," the individual stated in a report about the Bai family, broadcast on Chinese state media in July.

Within that report, a employee at their their scam centres recalled the harm he had experienced there: besides being assaulted, he had his fingernails extracted with instruments and two of his fingers amputated with a kitchen knife.

More Allegations

Bai Yingcang is among those who were sentenced to death recently. He has also been separately found guilty of planning to traffic and make 11 tonnes of narcotics, state media reported.

Downfall of the Families

Their fall happened in last year as political winds changed.

Over a long period Chinese authorities has pressed the Myanmar junta to rein in scam operations in Laukkaing.

Recently, the Chinese police released legal actions for the leading individuals of these clans.

Bai Suocheng, the clan's head, was included in the warlords who were transferred to Beijing from Myanmar in recent months.

For what reason is the authorities putting such extensive work to pursue the groups?" a expert commented in the July report.

This serves as a warning other people, regardless of your identity, where you are, if you carry out such terrible crimes targeting the Chinese people, you will be held accountable."