China detains 10 over telecom fraud

LANZHOU - Police in Lanzhou, capital of Northwest China's Gansu province, said Tuesday that they have recently detained 10 suspects over Bitcoin-related investment fraud.

On August 20, a victim surnamed Bao reported to the local police that she had been cheated out of 185,000 yuan (26,326 US dollars) in the name of investing in bitcoin and other projects through WeChat, China's leading social media platform.

An investigation team was immediately set up, and a telecom fraud gang led by two suspects surfaced after a preliminary investigation into the transaction records.

The gang, in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province, was found to have long been engaged in investment fraud. It has swindled a huge number of victims out of a large fortune.

Police spent a month investigating in provinces such as Hubei, Guangdong and Jiangxi, caught 10 suspects and seized dozens of mobile phones and computers.

Investigation and the capture of the fugitives are still in progress.