BEIJING -- A Chinese court recently held a public hearing for the case against a criminal gang led by Xu Faqi, also known as Xu Laofa, as part of joint China-Myanmar efforts to crack down on crimes in northern Myanmar that target Chinese citizens.

So far, more than 57,000 Chinese nationals suspected of involvement in fraud in northern Myanmar have been apprehended, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.

Investigations revealed that since 2019, the syndicate led by Xu had leveraged its influence in Kokang, northern Myanmar, to collaborate with telecom fraud groups. The group successively built or leased 14 compounds, recruiting large numbers of personnel to perpetrate telecom and online fraud targeting Chinese citizens.

Xu provided armed protection for telecom fraud compounds by controlling over 400 militiamen, allowing financiers behind the schemes to violently control, abuse, beat and even kill primary-level members of the telecom fraud syndicate, according to the investigations.

The criminal organization led by Xu is suspected of multiple crimes, including fraud, intentional injury, illegal detention, and extortion, involving more than 3,400 fraud cases with illicit gains exceeding 1.1 billion yuan (nearly $155 million).

In September 2023, Chinese police launched a special investigation into Xu's criminal group operating in Kokang. On Jan 30, 2024, through the China-Myanmar law enforcement cooperation mechanism, Myanmar police captured Xu and transferred him to Chinese authorities.