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One China's court has sentenced five prominent figures of an infamous Burmese organized crime group to death as Beijing persists in its efforts on fraudulent networks in the region.

Altogether, 21 clan members and associates were convicted of scams, homicide, injury and various offenses, stated a state media announcement posted on the judicial portal.

The family is among a few of mafias that rose to power in the 2000s and changed the poor backwater town of Laukkaing into a lucrative base of casinos and nightlife areas.

Recently they shifted to scams in which thousands of smuggled individuals, several of them from China, are trapped, abused and forced to defraud victims in unlawful operations worth billions.

Specifics of the Sentencing

Mafia head the patriarch and his son Bai Yingcang were included in the group of figures condemned to death by the court in Shenzhen. Another individual, A third figure and Chen Guangyi were the additional convicted.

Two figures of the Bai family syndicate were given suspended death sentences. Several were given to permanent incarceration, while additional individuals were handed jail sentences ranging from several years to two decades.

This family, who led their own militia, set up 41 bases to accommodate their online fraud schemes and gambling houses, officials said.

Magnitude of Illegal Schemes

Such unlawful operations entailed exceeding 29bn local currency (over four billion dollars; £3.1bn). They also resulted in the deaths of several from China nationals, the suicide of one and several assaults, reports reported.

The severe sentences issued by the judicial body are a component of China's campaign to remove the extensive fraud networks in South East Asia - and deliver a stern signal to further criminal groups.

Context of the Groups

These groups gained influence in the early 2000s with the help of a military leader - who is in charge of Myanmar's regime. The leader had aimed to bolster allies in the town after ousting its former leader.

Within the groups, the Bais were "the top", the son previously stated to state media.

During that period, our Bai family was the leading in each of the government and armed spheres," the individual said in a film about the clan, aired on national media in July.

During the report, a worker at one of their scam centres narrated the mistreatment he had experienced at the location: besides being beaten, he had his fingernails extracted with pliers and two of his digits amputated with a kitchen knife.

Further Accusations

Bai Yingcang is among those who were condemned to execution in the latest ruling. He has additionally been separately found guilty of organizing to trade and produce 11 tonnes of illegal drugs, official sources stated.

End of the Clans

The families' fall came in last year as situations altered.

Over a long period Beijing has urged the regime to control fraudulent schemes in the area.

Last year, the Chinese police released detention orders for the key figures of such families.

The patriarch, the clan's head, was among the warlords who were extradited to China from the country in recent months.

"Why is the Chinese government putting so much effort to pursue the groups?" a Chinese investigator commented in the summer documentary.

This serves as a warning groups, regardless of who you are, your location, as long as you carry out these serious crimes against the nationals, you will be held accountable."