China police smash 6,900 mafia-style groups

BEIJING, Jan 28 (Xinhua): Chinese police have busted 6,885 mafia-style groups since a major campaign against gang crime was launched nationwide about a year ago, official figures showed on Monday.

During the period, police cracked 79,270 criminal cases, seized 851 guns, and sealed assets worth of 62.1 billion yuan (9.23 billion US dollars) related to such crimes, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Public Security.

The country saw a year-on-year drop of 7.7 per cent in the number of criminal cases and a 13.8-per cent drop in serious violent crimes reported, it read.

Amid intensified efforts to pursue fugitives, in August 2018 the ministry issued a class-A wanted list of 10 fugitives suspected of gang crime. Nine of them have been captured.

In addition, 164 of 299 fugitives on a wanted list issued in early December have been seized.

China has taken a tough stance and stepped up efforts to crack down on gang crime. In January 2018, it launched a three-year campaign against organised crime and officials who shelter criminal organisations.