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A China's judicial body has handed down death sentences to several prominent individuals of a well-known Burmese mafia to capital punishment as Beijing continues its crackdown on fraudulent operations in Southeast Asian region.

Altogether, twenty-one Bai family figures and partners were sentenced of scams, homicide, injury and other crimes, said a state media announcement posted on the judicial website.

The group is one of a small number of organized crime groups that gained influence in the early 2000s and transformed the underdeveloped remote area of the town into a wealthy center of gambling establishments and nightlife areas.

In recent years they turned to illegal operations in which numerous of smuggled individuals, many of them Chinese, are caught, mistreated and compelled to defraud others in criminal enterprises estimated at billions.

Specifics of the Verdict

Mafia boss the patriarch and his offspring Bai Yingcang were among the group of individuals condemned to capital punishment by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and A fourth person were the other three sentenced.

A couple of figures of the clan mafia were handed conditional death penalties. Several were condemned to life in prison, while nine others were handed prison terms ranging from a period of 3-20 years.

This family, who controlled their own militia, created 41 bases to host their digital scam operations and casinos, officials said.

Extent of Illegal Activities

These illegal operations entailed more than twenty-nine billion yuan (over four billion dollars; £3.1 billion). These activities also caused the demise of six Chinese individuals, the self-inflicted death of one and several harm, official sources announced.

The severe sentences issued by the court are within the Chinese effort to eliminate the extensive scam operations in the region - and issue a stern signal to additional unlawful groups.

Background of the Groups

Such families became dominant in the recent decades with the support of a prominent figure - who now leads Myanmar's regime. The leader had intended to prop up allies in Laukkaing after removing its previous leader.

Among the clans, the Bais were "the most powerful", the son before stated to official sources.

During that period, the clan was the leading in each of the political and armed circles," he said in a film about the clan, broadcast on Chinese state media in July.

Within that documentary, a worker at their fraud facilities described the mistreatment he had experienced at the location: besides being beaten, he had his nails extracted with tools and a couple of his digits cut off with a kitchen knife.

Additional Accusations

The son is among those who were condemned to execution this week. He has additionally been independently found guilty of planning to trade and produce eleven tons of illegal drugs, official sources reported.

Downfall of the Clans

The families' downfall happened in last year as political winds changed.

Over a long period Beijing has encouraged the Myanmar junta to control fraudulent operations in Laukkaing.

Last year, the Chinese police released detention orders for the most prominent individuals of these families.

Bai Suocheng, the Bai family's patriarch, was among the individuals who were transferred to China from the country in recent months.

For what reason is the authorities putting such extensive work to pursue the groups?" a official said in the July film.

"It's to warn individuals, no matter your identity, your base, if you engage in these heinous crimes against the citizens, you will face consequences."