Trial of 21-member cross-border crime group ends in Shenzhen

A four-day trial involving a 21-member cross-border criminal group indicted on 12 charges, including fraud, intentional killing and intentional injury, ended on Monday in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court held the case publicly on Friday and said Monday it will announce the verdict at a later date.

According to the indictment, since August 2009 the defendants, part of the notorious Bay crime syndicate, used the organization's influence in Myanmar's Kokang region and relied on armed forces to establish 41 compounds through independent or joint development.

The group attracted individuals to provide funds and armed support, and then worked with these financiers to carry out criminal activities including telecom fraud, homicide, kidnapping, extortion, casino operations, organizing illegal border crossings and forcing others into prostitution, the indictment said.

The crimes led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals and injuries to several others, with gambling and fraud amounts exceeding 20 billion yuan ($2.81 billion), it said.

One member of the syndicate, along with accomplices, was also involved in trafficking and producing about 11 tons of methamphetamine, the indictment said.

"The members of the group should be held criminally liable for 12 charges, including fraud, intentional killing and intentional injury," Shenzhen prosecutors told the court after presenting evidence.

All defendants and their lawyers addressed the evidence during the trial.

More than 100 people, including family members of defendants, national lawmakers, political advisers and journalists, attended the hearing.

In 2023, China's Ministry of Public Security instructed Shenzhen police to handle the case. Following intensified China-Myanmar cooperation against telecom fraud, ringleaders Bay Saw Chain and Bay Yin Chin were captured and handed over to Chinese police, according to earlier reports.