A massive police raid has captured two alleged gangsters who controlled Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, a newspaper report said.

The report said the raid had ended the gangsters' decade-long monopoly in local businesses.

More than 500 police, many armed with mini-submachine guns, cordoned off a hot-pot restaurant on November 21 as more than 200 suspected members of the gang were celebrating a key member's move to a new house.

The officers rushed into a room to seize dozens of key members of the two gangs, including their alleged bosses - Xu Jianqiang and Lin Guoqin - the report said.

Xu and Lin controlled more than 20 companies in Yangjiang that employed more than 30,000 people, including gang members, a police insider told the newspaper.

The Public Security Ministry, which had sent undercover officers to infiltrate the gang, had prepared the case for nearly two years before the raid.

The officers spent one year rising up the ranks before meeting the gang's bosses, according to the report.

The local police boss and the vice mayor were also held. Dozens of government officials and workers were sent on trips before the raid to ensure gang members didn't receive any tips.

Detained suspects have been escorted to other cities, the report said.

Lin controlled 99 percent of Yangjiang's cement industry, most hotels and entertainment venues, while Xu controlled gas and logistics companies, as well as businesses selling aquatic products in the city.

(Shanghai Daily, December 5, 2007)