Chen Zhi, the ringleader of a major cross-border gambling and fraud criminal syndicate, has been extradited from Cambodia to China, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Thursday (Jan. 8).
Chen, a Chinese national, was successfully extradited on Wednesday with the support and cooperation of Cambodian authorities, marking yet another significant milestone in law enforcement collaboration between the two countries, according to the MPS.
It said that Chen's criminal group is suspected of engaging in a variety of crimes, including the operation of gambling dens, fraud, illegal business operations, and the concealment and disguise of the proceeds of these crimes.
Chen has been placed under compulsory measures in accordance with the law, and the relevant cases are under further investigation.
An MPS official said that the ministry will issue a wanted notice for an initial number of key members of Chen's criminal group in the near future, voicing determination to hunt down and apprehend all fugitives involved.
The MPS also issued a stern warning to the criminals, urging them to halt their criminal activities before it's too late, and to surrender immediately and seek lenient treatment.
The report indicates that Chen, aged 37, hails from Fujian. In his early years, he worked at a small, poorly-managed online gaming company and moved to Cambodia around late 2010 or early 2011, shifting his focus to the rapidly emerging real estate sector.
In 2014, he renounced his Chinese citizenship and obtained Cambodian citizenship. The Prince Group he founded, ostensibly developed a "technology industrial park" in Sihanoukville, but in reality, it was a fraud prison enclosed by high walls and barbed wire.
Thousands of victims were lured there by fake high-salary job offers, had their passports confiscated, and were forced to work up to 16 hours a day in online scams. Just two of the operation's bases housed 1,250 mobile phones, controlling approximately 76,000 social media accounts. At their peak, the daily fraud proceeds reached as high as US$30 million (approximately HK$230 million).
(With input from Xinhua)
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