China had 53 suspects of economic crimes repatriated from abroad in 2005 and is expecting the return of smuggling kingpin Lai Changxing from Canada, the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.

"Any criminal suspects fleeing to abroad and evading punishment shall not succeed in the end," Wu Heping, spokesman for the ministry, said at a news conference. "Justice is just a matter of time."

He didn't confirm the date when Lai might be deported and turned over to China, saying only the ministry "has noticed" that the media are concerned about the recent developments of Lai's case.

Lai was accused of being the mastermind of a criminal ring which had conducted, in collaboration with corrupt officials in coastal Xiamen City, the biggest smuggling operation uncovered in China since 1949. The case involved US$10 billion. Lai fled to Canada with his family in 1999. For years Lai has been trying to gain refugee status in Canada.

To curb the trend of increasing number of criminal suspects fleeing to abroad, Chinese police have strengthened cooperation with foreign counterparts, and the efforts "have paid off," Gao Feng, deputy director of the Economic Crime Investigation Department of the ministry, said Tuesday.

"There are 800 suspects wanted for economic crimes on the run in foreign countries, and over the years more than 320 Chinese criminal suspects have been repatriated, who are accused of embezzling nearly 70 billion yuan (US$875 million) worth of property and funds," Gao said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2006)