The Fall of Myanmar-North Telecom Fraud Empire: 59,000 Suspects Repatriated, Four Major Clans Wiped Out

In October 2026, a CCTV documentary titled "The Fall of Myanmar-North Telecom Fraud" was released, comprehensively exposing the three-year cross-border crackdown operation that has shaken the criminal empire that once plagued the China-Myanmar border. Fifty-nine thousand suspects have been repatriated to China for trial, and the four major telecom fraud clans in northern Myanmar have been completely eradicated. The Wa State, adjacent to Pu'er City in Yunnan Province, was the main base for telecom fraud in northern Myanmar. At its peak, just in the Mong Pawk area of Wa State, there were 265 fraud bases with nearly 60,000 people involved. This is equivalent to the entire urban population of a medium-sized county town engaged in scams. The man who built this empire was Bao Yanban. He once served as the county chief of Mong Pawk and Minister of Construction in Wa State. Together with He Chuntian, former county chief of Mong Nai, they used their administrative power to provide protection for fraud groups, forming a "government-gang integration" structure. As the documentary plainly stated, the various armed forces and wealthy families in northern Myanmar viewed telecom fraud as the "economic pillar" for expanding their interests. How much money did Bao Yanban have? A core member of his criminal group named Guo Mouhe testified: "I heard he has a large warehouse specifically for storing money. A guard at the gate stole over ten million from him without him noticing, because he has too much money." This is not an exaggeration—it comes directly from the criminal's own account in the documentary. Bao's cash was so abundant that it had to be dried on rooftops and in courtyards to prevent mold. When a guard stole ten million yuan, the master simply didn't notice. But the other side of the story involves those deceived by the lie that "gold is everywhere in Myanmar." Tang Moufeng was one of them. In 2021, he crossed the border illegally to northern Myanmar and entered a fraud park in Wa State. Due to poor performance, he was forced to sign an IOU for 70,000 yuan and then transferred between various parks. Still unable to achieve performance, he was beaten daily—his wounds festered to the point he couldn't walk. The fraud company then proposed: he could sell his kidney to pay off the debt. Tang's own words: "At that time, I would have been willing to cut off a leg or an arm, not just one kidney, as long as I could walk." The company boss took him to a rural courtyard and performed the surgery right there, without even a proper operating table. In the fraud parks, these people are called "piglets." Tang said: "Actually, I think 'piglet' is giving us too much credit—they don't treat us as human beings at all, they don't treat us as anything." In 2023, Chinese police launched a sweeping cross-border crackdown. On September 26, Kunming police arrested Bao Junfeng, Deputy Commander of the Wa United Army, who provided armed protection for fraud and online gambling. On October 1, at the Nansan port in Lincang, Yunnan, police captured nine key suspects including Wei Qingtao and Liu Zhengqi within just 10 minutes. By October 14, the Wa direction handed over 2,349 fraud suspects. The police warning is clear: any information claiming "high-paying overseas jobs" should be highly警惕. Legal employment must be sought through proper channels; do not easily trust "acquaintance" referrals for overseas work; for "investment opportunities" recommended by strangers, verify through official channels. Once discovering one has been deceived and is stranded overseas, seek help from local police or Chinese diplomatic missions.