China sentences three Myanmar-based Wei family gang members to death

Mixed · 2Chinese courts sentenced three leading members of the Myanmar-based Wei family criminal gang to death on Tuesday 13 October 2026, with three others given life imprisonment. 1 2 Centre · 1The sentences came from the Intermediate People's Court of Quanzhou and a court in Nan'an, both in Fujian province, according to Xinhua as relayed by Anadolu; a further 55 defendants received prison terms ranging from three years and three months to 24 years. 1 Left · 1CBS News reported that the Quanzhou court named the condemned as Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei and Liao Jingfang, and said Wei Huairen was one of the group's leaders and was convicted of several crimes including murder. 2

Left · 1According to the court, the gang was involved in drug trafficking, organizing prostitution, running illegal casinos, telecommunications fraud and the murder of at least two Chinese citizens, and its operations netted more than 12.2 billion yuan ($1.8 billion). 2 Centre · 1The courts also imposed fines, confiscation of property and deportation, and Chinese authorities say the syndicate ran criminal compounds in Myanmar's Kokang region. 1 Left · 1State broadcaster CCTV called the Wei family the "most violent criminal force in northern Myanmar", said it operated 14 "large-scale" scam compounds and lured "large numbers" of Chinese with fake promises of high wages, and said police found remains of victims bound with iron chains and with bullet holes in their skulls; analysts describe the Wei clan as one of the "four families" running crime syndicates in Kokang. 2

Left · 1Members of the Wei family were first indicted in October 2025. 2 Mixed · 2The verdicts follow earlier executions this year: CBS says China executed 11 people, including members of the "Ming family criminal gang", in January and four members of the Bai clan the following month, while Anadolu reports 15 Myanmar-based gang members executed in February. 2 1 Centre · 1China has expanded cooperation with Myanmar and Thailand to dismantle scam compounds, and Chinese authorities say more than 7,600 Chinese nationals suspected of telecom fraud were repatriated from Myanmar last year. 1

Left · 1CBS adds that the UN warns of tens of billions of dollars a year flowing to gangs through scam centres, that workers are sometimes willing and sometimes trafficked, and that experts say Myanmar's military has long turned a blind eye while facing pressure from China to act. 2