Chinese police arrested 20,500 people involving in 2,848 cases of illegal pyramid selling from 2001 to 2005, the police authority said on Tuesday.

"After spreading nationwide, the pyramid selling has now developed into a serious crime," said Gao Feng, deputy director of Bureau on Economic Crime under the Ministry of Public Security.

Gao told a press conference that more than 4.21 billion yuan (US$519.8 million) were involved in the 2,848 cases.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2006)