A municipal court in North China's Shanxi province on Thursday gave prison terms to a former police officer and his brother for running a mafia-style gang and engaging in a series of crimes.
Guan Jianjun and Guan Jianmin received 15 and 20 years in jail respectively on charges including organizing gang activities and disrupting social order, according to the verdict issued by the Changzhi Municipal Intermediate Court.
The trial of the two brothers came after local police in Changzhi busted an 80-member gang in 2010, detaining its ringleaders and sealing its illegal funds of 260 million yuan ($41.2 million).
The gang, led by police officer Guan Jianjun, was found to have opened gambling houses, controlled the local entertainment industry, engaged in illegal coal mining, and committed blackmail and forced detention on other individuals, said the court ruling.
The gang, in operation for more than 10 years, amassed 27 properties in Beijing and other cities and owned several companies in Changzhi, said the ruling, which also imposed fines totaling 350 million yuan on the two brothers.
Both Guan Jianjun and Guan Jianmin said they would appeal the case.
At Thursday's trial, the court also handed down jail sentences of up to 19 years to the gang's 24 other members.
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