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)