In recent years, the telecom fraud gangs in the Kokang region of northern Myanmar have been rampant. Multiple evil forces have long relied on armed forces to form a black industry chain, committing telecom fraud against Chinese citizens on a large scale, and deriving violent crimes such as kidnapping, illegal detention, extortion, and intentional homicide, seriously endangering the safety of the people.
With the continuous crackdown by the Chinese police and the Myanmar government, these criminal groups have been uprooted step by step.
In early 2025, the disappearance of Chinese actor Wang Xing once again drew international attention to the issues of transnational fraud and human trafficking, and forced the Thai government to make concessions, making efforts and changes in border policy and international cooperation.
The Rampant and Violent Rule of Telecom Fraud Gangs
The Kokang region in northern Myanmar has always been a disaster area for cross-border fraud, among which the most notorious are the "Four Major Families", including crime groups led by Bai Suocheng, Wei Huai Ren, Liu Zhengxiang, Xu Laofa, and the Ming family crime group.
For a long time, these gangs have not only organized scam dens but also protected scams with arms, controlling casinos, minerals, real estate, and other profitable industries, forming a "protect scams with soldiers, sustain soldiers with scams" black industry chain.
Since 2015, the Ming family crime group has relied on gambling and telecom fraud to prosper. Under the leadership of the family head Ming Xuechang, his son Ming Guoping, daughter Ming Julan, and granddaughter Ming Zhenzhen quickly expanded their influence, establishing multiple telecom fraud bases in the Kokang region, such as Wo Hu Mountain Villa, Louis International, and Yu Xiang International Group.
At its peak, the Ming family's scam dens involved up to tens of thousands of people, with annual fraud amounts reaching several billion yuan.
These scam parks not only carry out telecom fraud externally but also exercise extreme violent control over internal personnel. The Ming family's "management methods" include:
--Physical punishment and abuse: such as beating, electric shock, deprivation of food, etc.
--Illegal detention: Telecom fraud personnel are detained in "small black rooms", only able to breathe and eat through a small hole, unable to turn around.
--Violent suppression: Those who try to escape or fail to complete fraud tasks are harmed, even shot dead.
The armed manager of Wo Hu Mountain Villa, Luo Mouliang, confessed that within the scam dens controlled by the Ming family, countless victims were beaten to death, jumped off buildings, or were tortured to death because they failed to complete fraud tasks or tried to escape.
The Demise of the Kokang Telecom Fraud Groups
Under the unified deployment of the Ministry of Public Security, the Chinese police and Myanmar law enforcement departments have deepened cooperation and comprehensively cracked down on Kokang's fraud forces. Since July 2023, the scam dens in the Kokang region have been cleared one after another, and a large number of criminal suspects have been arrested.
The "10·20" shooting case has become a fuse to unveil the dark secrets!
On October 20, 2023, in the Wo Hu Mountain Villa in Kokang, to avoid law enforcement inspection, the Ming family crime group used the pretext of "sending telecom fraud personnel back to the country" to secretly transfer nearly 600 telecom fraud personnel. However, when some personnel realized they were about to be imprisoned again and tried to escape, the armed personnel in charge opened fire, resulting in 4 deaths, 4 injuries, and the bodies being buried.
Subsequently, "Wo Hu Mountain Villa" became a "hot search" term on the internet, attracting widespread public attention, with rumors that the victims were four Chinese police officers.
Taking this incident as an opportunity, China and Myanmar launched a joint operation. On November 12, 2023, our country's public security organs issued a public wanted notice for Ming Xuechang, Ming Guoping, Ming Julan, and Ming Zhenzhen.
On the night of November 15, 2023, the Myanmar side organized the arrest of Ming Xuechang, who committed suicide out of fear of crime during the process.
On November 16, 2023, with the strong cooperation of various parties in Myanmar, Ming Guoping, Ming Julan, and Ming Zhenzhen were successfully captured and handed over to the Chinese side.
On January 30, 2024, the Myanmar police handed over Bai Suocheng, Bai Yingcang, Wei Huai Ren, Liu Zhengxiang, Liu Zhengmao, Xu Laofa, six key leaders of the Kokang telecom fraud criminal groups, and four major criminal suspects to the Chinese side.
As of now, a total of 44,000 Kokang-related fraud suspects have been handed over to the Chinese police, including 171 "financial backers", organizational leaders, and key members, and 2908 fugitives on the internet.
In January 2025, the main members of the Ming family crime group were arrested, and the People's Procuratorate of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, has filed public prosecutions against 39 defendants in the main case of the Ming family, with case files amounting to 1110 volumes, nearly 15,000 pieces of documentary and physical evidence, and more than 50TB of electronic data.
After Kokang, turmoil rises again in Eastern Myanmar!
In early January 2025, Chinese actor Wang Xing went to Thailand to participate in an acting job and subsequently disappeared at the Thai-Myanmar border, sparking widespread concern. With his girlfriend's continuous efforts, the incident gradually fermented, attracting the attention of the governments of China and Thailand, and the Thai government also launched a search and rescue operation immediately, rescuing Wang Xing on the 7th.
This incident's timeline and main process:
January 2, 9 PM (Thailand time): Wang Xing departs from Shanghai Pudong Airport, heading to Thailand.
January 3, 3:16 AM: Wang Xing arrives at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok with a Chinese passport, holding a "non-immigrant visa" allowing him to stay in Thailand until March 3.
January 3, 3 AM: He leaves the airport in a gray Toyota Altis sedan (license plate 8กณ 5877 กทม).
January 3, around 7 AM: The vehicle arrives in Chai Nat Province.
January 3, around 9 AM: The vehicle passes through Phichit Province.
January 3, 10:34 AM: The vehicle passes through Tak Province, Mae Sot District.
January 3, around 11 AM, Wang Xing loses contact.
January 5, evening: Wang Xing's girlfriend posts on social media seeking help, stating that Wang Xing has disappeared in Thailand, sparking widespread attention.
January 6: The Chinese Consulate General in Chiang Mai states that it has received a request for help from the family, is in close communication with the relevant Thai parties and the family, and is actively providing necessary assistance to locate Wang Xing.
January 7: Thai police in Tak Province receive a report from the deputy commander of the Myanmar border guard, confirming that the missing Wang Xing has been found.
January 7, 6 PM: Tan Chai Bidanilab, the Inspector General of the Thai National Police, escorts Wang Xing from Mae Sot District, Tak Province, by police plane to Bangkok.
That evening, Wang Xing is rescued and gives an interview, publicly thanking the Thai government, the Prime Minister, and all the staff who assisted him, helping him return smoothly. He states that Thailand is safe and he would like to visit again in the future.
January 8: Thai police confirm that Wang Xing was deceived into going abroad for a casting call, traveling to a neighboring country through Thailand, but realized he had been deceived upon arrival.
January 9: During a media interview in Phuket, Thai Prime Minister Pe Tong Tan states that Thailand needs to prevent the country from becoming a transit point for crime.
January 10: Wang Xing returns to China by plane, arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 0:55 AM Beijing time on January 11.
January 11, the Thai National Tourism Authority issues a statement: Tapani Giyatipaiwen, Director-General of the Thai National Tourism Authority, expresses hope that everyone will have confidence in traveling to Thailand, emphasizing that the Thai government highly values the safety and welfare of tourists.
Afterward, Wang Xing states in an interview that he realized he had been deceived after being taken across the border, but he did not dare to resist.
The incident continues to ferment! The butterfly effect triggers policy changes!
Although Wang Xing has now returned to China, the incident has raised international tourists', especially Chinese tourists', concerns about the safety of traveling to Thailand, attracting high attention to transnational fraud and human trafficking! Moreover, as various similar incidents have been exposed, Thailand's reputation has plummeted!
Subsequently, various parties have questioned Thailand's border management, internal corruption, and collusion with evil forces! There are even rumors that the Thai government is not incapable of acting, but unwilling to act!
Seeing that Thailand is about to gain a bad reputation as a "telecom fraud transit station", the Thai government finally takes it seriously, not only expressing its intention to strengthen cooperation with relevant countries to jointly combat such criminal activities, but also making a series of statements and policy modifications to enhance the safety of traveling to Thailand.
Around January 10, the Thai Immigration Bureau recently set up warning signs in Chinese, Thai, and English at major passageways and border checkpoints at the Thai-Myanmar border, reminding foreigners, especially those from high-risk countries, to be cautious of being deceived into Myanmar, becoming victims of fraud, human trafficking, or organ trafficking. A warning point has also been set up at the Ban Huai Hin Fon checkpoint in Mae Sot County, alerting foreigners entering the area to avoid illegal passageways into Myanmar.
At the same time, checkpoints are set up at the entry and exit passageways in sensitive areas of the Thai-Myanmar border, strengthening passport checks for foreigners to prevent unauthorized entry and exit.
Various forces intervene, and the three-cut policy vows to eliminate the parks!
On January 12, senior officials from China and Thailand held a meeting at the Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok, emphasizing cooperation in combating human trafficking and transnational crime. The meeting announced plans to establish a Thai-Chinese police coordination center, specifically to track missing persons or those deceived into neighboring countries. The center will also facilitate the exchange of information on telephone fraud, human trafficking, and other transnational crimes.
On January 15, BGF Secretary-General Colonel Maung Chit Thu met with BTF (BGF) leaders, DKBA (DKBA) leaders, and Chinese corporate entrepreneurs, determining measures to address transnational crime, fraud, and human trafficking in the area. Subsequently, Captain Nai Maw Zaw, spokesperson for the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), stated that BGF is ready to cooperate closely with the international community to combat online fraud activities in the Myawaddy area at the Thai-Myanmar border.
During the same period, Thai Prime Minister Pe Tong Tan suggested reducing the visa-free days for Chinese tourists from the original 30 days to 15 days, attempting to reduce the stay of Chinese people and thus avoid gray industry issues.
The Thai special task force in Mae Sot County, Tak Province, has set up a 24-hour checkpoint on the border road section from Ban Mae Konken Town to Mahawan Town, focusing on preventing illegal border crossings. Previously, there were no checkpoints in this area.
The Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense announced that the Thai government will launch a six-month special crackdown, focusing on solving problems related to drugs, telephone fraud, and human trafficking. He stated: If the problems of drugs, telephone fraud, and human trafficking are not effectively improved within six months, the government will take more stringent measures.
On January 19, at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat held in Langkawi, Malaysia, officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) pledged to address the increasingly serious threats of transnational crime and online fraud in the region.
On January 21, law enforcement agencies from Myanmar, China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam reached a consensus to strengthen cooperation, jointly combat transnational telecom fraud crime, arrest criminal gang leaders, destroy fraud centers, and coordinate the rescue of trapped victims.
On January 22, Thai government agencies collaborated to launch a cross-border cleanup operation in the border area, searching for and expelling illegally residing foreigners.
Latest Developments!
On February 5, Thailand began to cut off the internet, electricity, and fuel supplies to the Myanmar area at the Thai-Myanmar border, including the Myawaddy area. Insiders reported that fuel prices in Myawaddy and other towns in eastern Shan State have skyrocketed, with residents rushing to buy fuel to cope with the situation.
However, as the saying goes, "For every clever move, there is a countermove." It is rumored that many parks have already prepared diesel engines and Starlink to cope with the three-cut situation.
Currently, it is unknown how long these parks can sustain, but it can be foreseen that they will eventually run out of resources! When that time comes, a thorough cleanup will be effortless!
