China charges Myanmar Golden Triangle suspects with murder and fraud

Chinese authorities have charged 16 Myanmar citizens with crimes including murder and telecoms fraud as part of a crackdown on cross-border cybercrime.

Criminal gangs are accused of luring hundreds of thousands of people to cross the border into Myanmar and then forcing them to take part in telecoms scams in the so-called Golden Triangle.

Myanmar authorities have handed over more than 31,000 telecoms fraud suspects to China since law enforcement officers from both countries started targeting cross-border gangs last September.

Crime syndicates are believed to have made millions of US dollars a day from the scams, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Last year Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the authorities believe that up to 100,000 people in one city alone – Myawaddy on the border between Myanmar and Thailand – were involved in telecoms fraud.

The latest charges, filed in the eastern province of Zhejiang, involve 39 people, 16 of whom are citizens of Myanmar. They are accused of offences that include murder, fraud, unlawful detention, organised gambling and prostitution, and drug trafficking