BEIJING: China executed 11 people linked telecom scam operations, on Thursday, state media reported, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry.

Fraud compounds where scammers lure internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in the lawless borderlands of Myanmar.

Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world.

Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work.

In recent years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation with regional governments to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to face trial in China’s opaque justice system.

The 11 people executed were sentenced to death in September by a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, state news agency Xinhua said, adding that the court also carried out the executions.

Crimes of those executed included “intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud and casino establishment”, Xinhua said.

The death sentences were approved by the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, which found that the evidence produced of crimes committed since 2015 was “conclusive and sufficient”, the report said.

Among the executed were “key members” of the notorious “Ming family criminal group”, whose activities had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to “many others”, Xinhua added.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2026