Major Internet pornography syndicate dismantled

By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-14 08:22

* More than 100,000 pornographic pictures and 10,000 video clips were found on the website, which had more than 40,000 registered members.

SHANGHAI: A criminal gang specializing in Internet porn has been smashed and 13 people detained over a cluster of websites that attracted 12 million members.

The gang, named Dikawen, manned 13 websites over a two-year period, said the Suqian public security bureau, Jiangsu province.

If Dikawen has been completely dismantled as police say, it would signify a major blow to one of three major porn web groups operating in China.

The groups, according to the bureau, operate through computer servers located in the United States.

The beginning of the major bust came on April 8 when Internet police officers with the bureau discovered that two residents in Suqian were part of a management team for one of the 13 websites.

More than 100,000 pornographic pictures and 10,000 video clips were found on the website, which had more than 40,000 registered members.

From the two suspects, police tracked the group's alleged bank accounts collecting fees from site members. But the bank accounts were listed under falsified names and money was withdrawn from ATMs at different places in Chongqing, Hebei and Shanxi provinces, according to the bureau. People withdrawing from the accounts at ATMs reportedly wore masks.

In July, investigators discovered that changes were made to the group's bank accounts, which were traced to a man surnamed Shen in Beijing. Anytime he was away from Beijing, a certain amount was withdrawn from the accounts.

Police arrested Shen on July 8. He said he had worked for a multinational auto company and was sent to the United States for training, according to the bureau.

In the US, he met a Taiwanese man who instructed him to rent a computer server and launch the websites.

He quit his job after coming back to China to focus on the illegal business. By the time he was detained, Shen allegedly collected more than 750,000 yuan from website members and hired more than 300 people to manage the websites.

In all, 13 have been arrested.

"After seizing Shen, we have used his account and passwords to close all 13 websites," said a policeman surnamed Zhang with the bureau.

The case is still under investigation, Zhang said.

On July 30, the Ministry of Public Security started a campaign with eight other government departments to clamp down on Internet pornography. The campaign focuses on websites with overseas servers.