Organized crime crackdown in Guangdong

Guangdong police said on Thursday that they have busted 39 cross-border criminal gangs during a special campaign.

The campaign was code named Thunder 12 and involved collaboration with police from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Police detained 529 suspects as part of a crackdown on 311 unsolved cross-border organized crime matters during a campaign between July 9 and Aug 8, according to Guo Shaobo, deputy director-general of Guangdong provincial department of public security.

Police seized 68 guns, 2,806 bullets, six explosive devices, 289 vehicles, plus more than 730 kilograms of illicit drugs. A total of 12.57 million yuan (US$1.974 million), of illicit money was also seized during the campaign that involved 65,908 police officers.

More than 10 entertainment venues operated by overseas businesses were investigated.

Guo said the campaign has dealt a heavy blow to the cross-border organized crime gangs that used to be active in the southern Chinese region.

The campaign mainly took place in nine cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Jiangmen, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing in the Pearl River Delta, which borders Hong Kong and Macao.

Guo hinted that more special campaigns will be launched in collaboration with Hong Kong and Macao police to fight organized cross-border crimes in the following months.

“Guangdong will never become a haven for criminals from home and abroad,” he added.