Since the beginning of 2006, China's courts have convicted 12,796 people in connection with 1,171 cases of organized crime.

One person was killed and 18 other were injured by Lu's organization during this time. The police also arrested 19 government officials who served as "protective umbrellas" during the investigation.

Lu Baocheng was sentenced to death on the same charges as Lu Baoyi in May, 2008, while Lu Baocheng and 53 other gangsters in their organization were sentenced to life or fixed imprisonment.

-- Bai Yugang, 43, was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined 200,000 yuan in Henan Province in June this year, on seven charges including organizing and leading criminal organizations, and intentionally injuring.

Bai was found to have organized a gang of ex-convicts and criminals in Nanyang city in 2004, and had been since engaged in blackmailing, forced transactions and other illegal activities until July, 2008. He also illegally took over a local mine through violence for his own economic interests. Another 26 people linked to Bai's organization were sentenced to life or fixed imprisonment and control.

-- Fang Guangcheng, 46, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment and given a fine of nearly 16 million yuan (about 2.3 million U.S. dollars) in Beijing in September, 2007, on eight charges including organizing and leading criminal organizations.

Fang, former deputy chief of the Liyuan Township of Beijing's Tongzhou district, was found to have engaged in assaults, blackmailing and other illegal activities between 1996 and 2005. He also "illegally took control of part of Tongzhou's real estate and entertainment sites," said the SPC SPC.

Another 36 people linked to Fang's organization were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 20 months to 15 years.

-- Li Falin, 32, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in Hebei Province in May, 2008, on seven charges including participating in criminal organizations, and provoking fights and quarrels.

Li and his criminal organization were found to have engaged in group brawls, assaults, vandalism, blackmail and other illegal activities between 2003 and 2006, and had injured 22 people during that time.

Twenty-four people linked to Li's organization were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from a year to 19 years.

-- Lin Guoqin, 52, and 45 others in his organization are being prosecuted in Guangdong's Yangjiang under 24 charges including organizing, leading and participating in criminal organizations, murders and injuries.

Lin was found to have organized a gang of more than 50 ex-convicts and unemployed people in the early 1990s, and had been since engaged in gambling, usury, forced transactions and other illegal activities until arrested by the police in 2007. Seven people were murdered and more than 20 others were injured by Lin's organization during that time.

The Intermediate People's Court of Yangjiang began Lin's trial in June, and will hand down a sentence soon.

-- Chen Mingliang was arrested in June this year by Chongqing police during an investigation into the death of Li Minghang, who was shot dead in Chongqing on June 3, 2009.

The police found Chen was linked to kidnapping, blackmailing and organized prostitution, and had profited by more than 100 million yuan from these activities since 2001. Three people were murdered and three others were injured by Chen's organization which he set up in 2001.

The police have so far seized more than 80 million yuan from Chen's illegal activities, and have uncovered a number of government officials who served as "protective umbrellas."

The case is still under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2009)