Guangdong police vow to keep up pressure on gangs

A senior police officer has pledged there will be no let up in an ongoing crackdown on criminal gangs in rural Guangdong province.

Qian Bo, deputy director of Guangdong Public Security Department's Criminal Investigation Bureau, was speaking to journalists eight weeks into Jufeng-39, the code name for a campaign that has already dealt a heavy blow to organized crime.

"Guangdong police have given top priority to the fight against criminal organizations, village tyrants and corruption at grassroots in 2017. We have no reason to relax our vigilance in the remaining weeks of the year," he said.

Since launching Jufeng-39, police have broken 130 underground gangs and detained 1,420 suspects involved in more than 460 criminal cases, Qian said.

A large number of guns, illegal knives and iron rods have been seized, along with the vehicles of perpetrators.

In Guangzhou, police detained 59 suspects in two raids on a major criminal organization headed by a local, surnamed Li, in Baiyun district's Luogang village.

The gang is suspected of offenses including loan fraud, trading by force, intentional injury, monopolizing local markets, and organizing secret societies. Police have seized properties belonging to the gang worth over 50 million yuan ($7.7 million).

Police in Shenzhen have detained 140 suspects in action against a gang they say is headed by two villagers, both surnamed Wang, in Baoan district. They seized knives and steel pipes, and froze a bank account holding more than 8 million yuan. 

In the cities of Yangjiang and Qingyuan, suspects have also been detained and weapons seized.

"Criminal gangs have affected social stability and people's lives through monopolizing markets, opening secret casinos, defrauding villagers and organizing robberies," Qian said. 

He reiterated police's zero-tolerance on gang-related crimes at township and village levels.