BEIJING/YANGON (Reuters): China executed 11 criminals from gangs based in northern Myanmar that included key members of telecom fraud groups, state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday.
The 11 were sentenced to death in September, and the executions were carried out by a court in Wenzhou in the eastern province of Zhejiang, Xinhua said without giving more details about the criminals.
In recent years, China has stepped up collaboration with South-East Asian neighbours Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia to crack down on rampant "scam centre" operations in the region.
As a result, tens of thousands of criminal suspects have been repatriated, transnational organised crime experts say.
Last year, China's Public Security Ministry said more than 7,600 Chinese nationals suspected of online gambling and telecom fraud were repatriated from Myawaddy, a town on the southeastern Myanmar border with Thailand.
Earlier this month, Cambodia extradited to China tycoon Chen Zhi, who the US says chairs a conglomerate that is a front for a multi-billion-dollar cyber scam network.
(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Neil Fullick) -- Reuters
