A new documentary, jointly produced by China Media Group (CMG) and the Ministry of Public Security, has revealed the brutal conditions inside telecom fraud compounds in northern Myanmar and detailed how Chinese police moved to dismantle major criminal groups operating there.

Titled "The Demise of Telecom Fraud in Northern Myanmar," the documentary features exclusive footage and interviews with prominent syndicate leaders and financial backers from northern Myanmar's "Four Families" who have recently been executed. It also details the harrowing experiences of victims and coerced workers trapped in these lawless industrial zones.

It offers a look behind the scenes at how Chinese judicial authorities overcame geographical and law enforcement barriers to track and apprehend criminals who were entrenched overseas and wreaking havoc.

At the height of the telecom fraud wave in northern Myanmar, throngs of misguided individuals – dreaming of striking it rich – flocked to the region. The primary lure was a mirage of prosperity – a false narrative spun by criminal syndicates portraying the area as a land paved with gold and a haven of peace.

The "Four Families" built sprawling telecom fraud compounds to attract wealthy backers, while using armed force to exert control. They subjected low-level operatives to physical torture, psychological manipulation, and financial exploitation, turning telecom fraud into the new "key to riches" in their sordid history of amassing wealth.

The documentary sheds light on the obscene wealth accumulated by the syndicate bosses. In 2023, Chinese police issued bounties for key Wa State syndicate leaders, including Bao Aiban and He Chuntian.

He was once a local county chief, while Bao accumulated so much physical cash that he frequently had to dry piles of banknotes on his roof and in his courtyard to keep them from molding.

A key member of Bao's group, Guo, revealed the sheer scale of the wealth, stating that Bao had a massive warehouse dedicated entirely to storing cash. "A guard once stole over 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) from the gate, and Bao didn't even notice because he had too much money," Guo said in the video.

Wu Hongming, one of the core financial backers of the notorious Ming family syndicate, was also featured in the documentary. 

Reflecting on his crimes, Wu coldly remarked, "Wolves are born to eat meat, and lions are born to eat sheep." Following a trial, Wu and ten other members of the syndicate were executed on January 29, 2026.

On December 30, 2024, the People's Procuratorate of Wenzhou City in east China's Zhejiang Province formally initiated prosecutions against 39 defendants involved in the principal case concerning the Ming family criminal syndicate in northern Myanmar.

This move marked the first major legal action taken against the "Four Families," demonstrating a resolute commitment to prosecuting the heinous crimes associated with telecommunications fraud in the region.

The case file comprised 1,110 volumes, nearly 15,000 pieces of documentary and physical evidence, over 50 terabytes of electronic data, and more than 500 directives regarding the collection and supplementation of evidence.

This massive evidentiary foundation – weighing two tonnes and forming a robust chain of evidence – not only established a rigorous evidentiary framework for prosecuting the Ming family syndicate but also set standards and guidelines for the nationwide, coordinated campaign against cross-border telecommunications fraud.

On September 29, 2025, twenty-three defendants from the Ming family criminal syndicate were brought before the grand tribunal of the Intermediate People's Court of Wenzhou. The case involved 12 homicides resulting in 16 deaths and encompassed 14 distinct criminal charges. The court sentenced 11 defendants – including the syndicate's leaders, Ming Guoping and Ming Zhenzhen – to death, while five others received death sentences with a two-year reprieve.

This marked the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China that full judicial jurisdiction was exercised over an armed and transnational criminal syndicate entrenched abroad.