East Asia
A reward of 200,000 yuan (US$28,280) is being offered for information or assistance leading to the arrest of each wanted individual.
A screenshot of a wanted notice issued by police in Longyan city in China’s Fujian province, seeking fugitives tied to cross-border fraud rings. (Image: WeChat/Ministry of Public Security)
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BEIJING: China has issued a wanted notice for 100 fugitives tied to cross-border fraud rings, including key members of major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar, as it keeps up a sweeping crackdown on telecom and online scams.
For each wanted individual, a reward of 200,000 yuan (US$28,280) will also be offered to anyone providing effective leads or assistance leading to their arrest, said the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on Tuesday (Dec 9).
In recent years, key fugitives involved in telecom fraud, under the protection of “overseas forces”, have organised and recruited people to engage in long-term fraudulent activities targeting Chinese citizens, said the ministry, without identifying a specific country.
The activities involved “enormous sums of money and displayed an extremely egregious nature”, the ministry added.
The suspects include Wu Qiping, Wu Qingzheng, Fu Xiaobin and Ou Changhua, all of whom are linked to criminal groups known as the “four families” in northern Myanmar – referring to noted criminal groups operating in the area close to the Chinese border.
MPS said that since it has launched a “special operation” to combat crimes in northern Myanmar targeting Chinese citizens, the 100 suspects have continued to act “without restraint or hesitation”. The ministry did not specify when the operation began.
Public security organs in several parts of China, including Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Quanzhou city in Fujian province, Shenzhen, Kunming and Chongqing have issued public reward notices for their capture.
“Anyone with relevant information is urged to report immediately to the public security authorities. The identity of informants will be strictly kept confidential,” the notices said.
They warned that “retaliation against informants will be severely punished according to the law”.
The authorities also urged the fugitives to turn themselves in and seek leniency.
In a separate statement, MPS on Monday said a total of 1,178 Chinese nationals involved in telecom fraud cases in Myanmar’s eastern Myawaddy township have been sent back to China since the beginning of December.
The suspects were handed over in batches via Thailand under the escort of Chinese police, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Quoting the ministry, Xinhua reported that more than 6,600 Chinese nationals suspected of telecom fraud have been escorted back to China since Feb 20.
Beijing has led an international pressure campaign to crack down on the scam hubs, irked at its citizens being lured to work in the industry and targeting other Chinese with their cons.
Scam victims in Southeast and East Asia alone were conned out of up to US$37 billion in 2023, according to a United Nations report, which said global losses were likely “much larger”.
The latest return of suspects comes after a Nov 14 ministerial meeting involving China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, where they agreed to deepen cooperation and launch coordinated crackdowns on cross-border telecom fraud.
Last month, a Chinese court sentenced Myanmar crime syndicate boss Bai Suocheng, his son Bai Yingcang and three close associates to death for his group’s industrial-scale operations that led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens.
In September, a court in Zhejiang province handed down death sentences to 11 members of another Myanmar crime syndicate for crimes including fraud and murder.