The Hongkou District Procuratorate in Shanghai recently disclosed a major cross-border telecom fraud case. The main culprit, Chen, originally a watch repairman, turned to cross-border fraud due to gambling debts and eventually became the "Telecom Fraud King" in Northern Myanmar.
The case involved 55 cross-border telecom fraud suspects, and the prosecutorial authorities seized illegal gains of over 10 million yuan and have prosecuted the members of the criminal gang.
Chen was originally an ordinary watch repairman in Shanghai, inheriting his father's watch stall. However, addicted to gambling, he incurred huge debts and did not reform even after being sentenced to probation.
Chen gathered accomplices to cross the China-Myanmar border and started a new "entrepreneurial" path in the Muji area of Northern Myanmar—cross-border fraud. Using methods like "pig butchering" and "order brushing," he quickly swallowed up local powers and even obtained armed protection from local militias, gradually transforming from an inconspicuous watch repairman into the locally famous "Telecom Fraud King."
Facing a complex case with numerous suspects, the Hongkou District Procuratorate established a special cross-departmental case team, collaborating with the public security authorities to conduct an in-depth investigation.
The main challenges of the case included tight timing, lack of evidence, and difficulty in securing convictions. However, the prosecutorial authorities gradually cracked the case's difficulties through concentrated interrogations, sorting electronic data, and guiding supplementary investigations, successfully pinpointing Chen's criminal gang.
Through big data analysis, the prosecutorial authorities identified Chen's "Xindi" criminal group and seized their illegal gains of over 10 million yuan.
Meanwhile, the prosecutorial authorities also placed some suspects under residential surveillance at designated locations to ensure the smooth progress of the investigation and protect the suspects' litigation rights.
In the process of handling the case, the Hongkou District Procuratorate not only relied on precise investigative methods but also improved case handling efficiency and anti-fraud capabilities by building big data models.
The Procuratorate also established electronic data evidence collection standards based on common criminal methods in the case and enhanced public anti-fraud awareness through lectures and popular science articles, strengthening society's ability to prevent telecom fraud.
The case is still being further processed, and the prosecutorial authorities have already prosecuted Chen for crimes including fraud and illegal border crossing.
