Police crack down on gangsters in Chongqing

Some 3,000 police officers have arrested more than 1,500 accused gangsters in Chongqing, the South China Morning Post reported. Among the 1,544 arrested, 67 are said to be gang bosses. Police also froze US$224 million in gang funds, seized 48 guns and 877 rounds of ammunition and are now hunting for another 469 alleged gangsters. Women accounted for ten of the arrests. Wen Qiang, Chongqing’s deputy police chief of 16 years, has also been accused of protecting gangsters. Besides organizing criminal gangs, the arrested are accused of illegal activities ranging from loan sharking, murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, assault, and instigating social unrest. The police have received 9,165 tip-offs since the raids started. It is believed that at least some of the accused have escaped overseas.