Three death sentences and three life terms for Wei gang members on October 13

Chinese courts sentenced three leading members of the Wei family crime network in northern Myanmar to death and three others to life imprisonment on October 13, 2026, in a case involving telecommunications fraud and violent crime. The Quanzhou Intermediate People’s Court and Nan’an People’s Court in the eastern province of Fujian announced the first-instance rulings against members of the network, which operated in Myanmar’s Kokang region.

Three death sentences and three life terms

Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei and Liao Jingfang received death sentences, while Wei Qingtao, Kang Min and Xiong Hengxing were sentenced to life imprisonment, according to Chinese state media reports of the rulings.

Another 55 defendants received prison terms ranging from three years and three months to 24 years. Additional penalties included fines, confiscation of property and deportation, depending on the individual case.

The Wei network became the third of the groups described in the reports as northern Myanmar’s “four major families” to face sentencing in China, following the Ming and Bai groups.

Border force gave the Wei network military power

The Wei family exercised influence through an officially recognised Border Guard Force, distinguishing it from criminal groups that relied on privately assembled armed units, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Wei Chaoren established the family’s political foundations, while Wei Huairen consolidated control over border forces in Kokang. Wei Huairen then groomed his nephew, Chen Dawei, to oversee the armed units and succeed him in the family’s military leadership.

CCTV reported that the family used this authority to protect criminal businesses involving gambling, prostitution and drugs. The broadcaster described the network as the “most violent criminal force in northern Myanmar”.

Fake jobs and investment schemes fed 14 scam compounds

The Wei network expanded into telecommunications fraud around 2017 and developed 14 large scam compounds, according to CCTV’s account of the investigation.

The compounds were presented as industrial parks to attract financial backers, while social media advertisements offered Chinese nationals supposedly well-paid jobs in Myanmar. People who travelled there were detained, traded between operators and held for ransom.

The report put ransom demands at about 300,000 yuan per person, equivalent to more than 1.5 million baht.

The network also used bogus blockchain projects and trust funds to draw victims into fraudulent investments. CCTV reported that fraud involving the group amounted to almost 6 billion yuan over five years, while casino turnover approached 10 billion yuan.

The report valued those amounts at approximately 30 billion baht and 50 billion baht respectively. The casino figure represented money passing through the gambling operations, rather than profit.

Killings investigated during more than 700 days of police work

CCTV’s account described Chen Dawei arranging the killing of a detained victim as part of a ritual intended to cement ties with a financial backer.
In a separate case in 2022, Chen ordered a captive killed following a personal dispute, according to the broadcaster. Police later recovered remains in a kneeling position, restrained with chains, with seven bullet holes in the skull.

Chinese investigators made three trips into conflict-affected areas of northern Myanmar to collect evidence. Their work also extended across 28 Chinese provinces and more than 240 cities, with evidence gathering taking more than 700 days.

Leading figures from the four criminal networks were arrested between late 2023 and early 2024.