BEIJING (AFP) — China on Thursday executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” involved in telecom scam operations, state media reported.

Fraud compounds have flourished in Myanmar’s lawless borderlands, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry.  

The centers are typically staffed by foreigners — including many Chinese — with many saying they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online. 

Beijing has stepped up cooperation with Southeast Asian nations in recent years to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to China.

The 11 people executed Thursday were sentenced to death in September by a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, Xinhua said, adding that the court also carried out the executions.

Crimes of the executed included “intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud and casino establishment,” the report said.

The death sentences had been approved by the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, which found that the evidence produced of crimes committed since 2015 was “conclusive and sufficient,” Xinhua said.

Among the executed were members of the “Ming family criminal group,” whose activities had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to “many others.”

“The criminals’ close relatives were allowed to meet with them before the execution,” Xinhua added.