Documentary Exposes Ritual Killings and Violent Control by Telecom Fraud Network in Myanmar

Dragon Media News Desk

A Chinese documentary has revealed that the Wei family, linked to telecom fraud in northern Myanmar, used armed groups to enforce violent control over scam compounds and carried out killings as part of rituals. One victim was found with seven bullet holes in the skull, the documentary said.

The second episode of the three-part documentary, “The Demise of Myanmar-Based Telecom Fraud,” focuses on China’s pursuit of criminal groups operating in northern Myanmar. It describes how Chinese authorities overcame jurisdictional and law enforcement barriers to track down fugitives and dismantle the so-called “four major families” and other criminal groups.

According to the documentary, the Wei family rapidly expanded its political and military influence in northern Myanmar about 15 years ago. Wei Chaoren served in Myanmar’s Union Parliament, while his younger brother, Wei Huairen, held military power. The family received government salaries ostensibly for border security but used state institutions to protect its interests, the documentary said. It also used border forces and private armed groups to control scam compounds.

To maintain the family’s control over armed forces in Kokang, Wei Huairen reportedly groomed his nephew, Chen Dawei, as a leading member of the next generation. Chen sought to strengthen ties with scam-compound financiers by becoming their sworn brother, according to the documentary.

To make the ceremony more solemn and demonstrate his loyalty, Chen ordered subordinates to select a stranger at random for a ritual killing. The victim was being held in solitary confinement after refusing to comply with the compound’s rules, the documentary said.

In a separate incident in the second half of 2022, Chen ordered a subordinate to seize and detain an employee of a financier from another family-run compound, reportedly because of a previous dispute. About a month later, Chen ordered that the employee—who had refused to submit—be taken to an execution site.

Huang Yuanfeng, head of the criminal investigation brigade at the public security bureau in Nan’an, Quanzhou, said the victim was found kneeling and face down, with his hands bound behind his back and seven bullet holes in his skull. The victim appeared to have been shot repeatedly, he said in the documentary.

The three-part documentary was jointly produced by China’s Ministry of Public Security and China Media Group. It was scheduled to air on China Central Television from Monday to Wednesday and examines the violence associated with cyber-fraud networks in Myanmar and China’s crackdown on cross-border scams.