Three pickpocket gangs that used children to steal have been arrested in Shenzhen, reports Guangzhou Daily. The youngest child involved was just five.

The children were ordered to take money and cellphones from women's purses or men's pockets while the adult gang members surrounded the victims to cover for the children, said Shenzhen police.

To secure evidence of their crimes, three teams of undercover policemen followed the suspects for more than 10 days and recorded their activities on video.

Some children were found chained to beds when police raided their dens on September 20.

Among the 23 people arrested, 16 were younger than 16 years of age and have been sent home to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

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