Myanmar has extradited three notorious Chinese crime bosses to Beijing, who were infamous for trafficking numerous foreign nationals to operate scams by force.
Bai Suocheng, Wei Chaoren, and Liu Zhengxiang led three of the four families controlling Laukkaing on Myanmar’s northeastern border with China.
They were transported to China on a chartered flight, accompanied by seven others, marking a significant blow to the diminishing power of Myanmar’s military regime.
The downfall of the military-backed Chinese mafia in Myanmar has been a dramatic turn of events, exacerbating the challenges faced by Myanmar’s weakening military.
General Min Aung Hlaing, known for supporting the Chinese mafia in Laukkaing, has been under pressure from China to curb the illicit activities in the region, leading to coordinated attacks by insurgent armies last October.
The four families, which seized control of Laukkaing in 2009, transformed the once-poor Burmese border town into a hub of criminal activity, particularly in lucrative scam centers.
Hundreds of thousands of individuals were estimated to have been trafficked into these centers across Southeast Asia, engaging in telephone and online scams.
China’s Ministry of Public Security accused the crime bosses of multiple severe crimes, including fraud, murder, assault, and illegal detention.
In December, Beijing offered a public reward for the apprehension of these leaders and their network, labeling them as “ring leaders” and collaborating with Myanmar authorities.
The vulnerable Myanmar army provided China with an opportunity to crack down on the scam compounds in Laukkaing.
So far, around 44,000 individuals suspected of involvement in the scam centers have been handed over to China from Myanmar.
The Ministry of Public Security hailed the recent extradition of the three mafia heads as a “landmark achievement,” showcasing Special Weapons and Tactics Unit officers escorting the suspects upon their arrival in Kunming.
Source-BBC
