Efforts to combat organized crime pay off

Police in China successfully dismantled over 1,900 criminal organizations, apprehending more than 27,000 suspects accused of being involved in organized crimes and solving over 29,000 related cases, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Public Security on Wednesday.

The ministry pledged to continue to target such crimes, promote systematic governance and further enhance the standardization and professionalism of its fight against organized crime.

Efforts have been intensified to address issues that have a severe impact on society and are strongly reflected by the public, and to root out criminal gangs, it said.

Last year, the ministry prioritized the investigation of 37 major organized crime cases, providing enhanced guidance, oversight and expert support to ensure the orderly progress of case investigations.

Public security organs launched a concerted effort to apprehend fugitives involved in such crimes, resulting in the arrest of 1,222 individuals — 1,105 domestically and 117 from abroad.

Given the escalating threat of organized criminal activities spreading to cyberspace, the ministry also launched special operations aiming to dismantle criminal networks, apprehend key figures and disrupt illicit organizations.

As a result, they successfully busted 795 gangs, arrested over 12,000 suspects and solved 18,000 cases.

Additionally, the police participated in special campaigns against illegal sand mining in the Yangtze River and the illegal extraction of sea sand. They continued to crack down on organized crimes in key industries, successfully dismantling 28 criminal organizations involved in natural resources.

In September, in collaboration with relevant departments, public security authorities boosted efforts to rectify key industries such as education and finance. In these areas, they investigated over 800 organized crime cases and apprehended more than 6,000 suspects, effectively addressing irregularities in these sectors, it said.