Those arrested include local civil servants and police officers who used their influence and power to provide protection to local secret societies involved in organized crime, known as hei shehui or Mafia-style organization, an official from Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security said Wednesday.

Further inquiries into the triad gang are continuing, added the official.

Law enforcement officers seized seven cars and two motorcycles, 31 guns, over 100 rounds of ammunition and 21 knives belonging to suspected gang members.

Police also confiscated a total of 170,000 yuan (US$20,482) in cash and closed down at least 10 underground casinos during a swoop in Qingyuan, about 100 kilometers from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong.

A quantity of fake certificates and official stamps were also seized.

It is, to date, the largest hei shehui gang that has been cracked in Guangdong Province which borders Hong Kong and Macao.

And Liang Guoju, director of Guangdong Provincial Public Security Bureau, said the crackdown has dealt a heavy blow to the province's triad gangs and curtailed a number of criminal activities.

This was just the beginning, the bureau chief warned, promising that the fight to put an end to hei shehui crimes in the province would continue.

He added that cracking down on such criminals is the best way to ensure a sound social environment for economic development in the region.

The gang, headed by Xie Haiqing and Wang Minqiang, is accused of organizing more than 50 major crimes since 1996, including a string of robberies which netted more than 4.9 million yuan (US$590,360) in property and cash.

Both Xie and Wang are Qingyuan locals.

The gang's criminal activities in recent years involved kidnapping, rape, extortion, loan sharking, possession of firearms and running illegal casinos in the cities of Qingyuan and Qingxin and Guangzhou's Huadu District.

Guangdong police established a special task force following a string of complaints last August by over 40 local residents who had fallen prey to the gang.

Headed by Cui Jian, directory of Qingyuan City Bureau of Public Security, the 30-member strong task force organized for the case included top crime-busters from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhanjiang, Zhuhai, Huizhou and Shaoguan.

Three months of initial undercover inquiries laid the groundwork for the ensuing waves of action launched in late November.

The high profile case aroused considerable interest at central government level and this week the Ministry of Public Security sent a congratulatory telegram highly praising Guangdong police for their work in cracking down on the gang.

(China Daily April 3, 2003)