How Chinese Police Dismantled a $20M Game Cheat Syndicate

In March 2020, the Jiangyan (Jiangsu) police received a report from a League of Legends player who suspected his opponent of using cheat software because of unusually perfect movements.

Investigators quickly identified the opponent, who admitted using a cheat called “Xian Yadan” purchased from a QQ group run by a user known as “Baoying Ge.” The cheat was widely sold.

The police formed a special task force, discovering a criminal network that sold three cheat programs—“Xian Yadan,” “Lu Boshi,” and “Yunding Qi Boshi”—targeting League of Legends and its auto‑chess mode. These tools provided functions such as auto‑attack, auto‑farm, skill evasion, card optimization, and even skin modification, none of which exist in the official game.

Sales were conducted via QQ groups and cloud storage links, with users paying for card keys to activate the cheats. Prices for daily cards were at least ¥20, ¥25, and ¥6 respectively, while monthly cards cost ¥258, ¥325, and ¥88, generating over ¥20 million in revenue since the end of 2018.

The mastermind, Luo, a high‑school graduate who taught himself programming, created the first cheat “Xian Yadan” in December 2018 and later developed the other two. Within a year, he earned ¥5 million and purchased a ¥1.2 million Porsche before being arrested.

After three months of investigation, the task force mapped the entire supply chain—from upstream developers Luo and platform support “Lu,” to mid‑level agent Zhong, down to downstream retailers like Xu. On June 21‑22, coordinated raids in 14 provinces and 18 cities captured all 21 suspects, seizing 52 phones, tablets, and 18 computers.

All major suspects confessed to manufacturing and selling the cheats; several had prior convictions for similar offenses. The police also uncovered that the cheats were rebranded as “Cheli Zi,” “Ban Langu,” and “Qi Sheng” to evade detection.

Legal experts note that selling or providing such cheat software violates Articles 285 and 287‑2 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, covering illegal intrusion, control of computer systems, and aiding cybercrime, with penalties ranging from imprisonment to fines.

The police warned that using cheats undermines game balance and that illegal profiteering through such software will inevitably face severe legal consequences.