Police target organized crime gangs

Local police have cracked down on 90 criminal gangs in the city, local media reported Monday.

Law enforcement has focused its efforts on gangs that use violence and intimidation to commit crimes.

In one example, police busted up a gang operating a bar that charged exorbitant prices and used the threat of violence when customers refused to pay, according to a report in the Xinmin Evening News.

On September 9, a Spanish man named Pedro Martin followed a woman he met on the street to a bar on Baoshan Road in Zhabei district, according to the report. Before he left, the staff presented him with a bill for 39,960 yuan ($6,410). When Martin refused to pay, he was threatened by four men, who refused to let him leave until he handed over his bank card, which they used to make a 14,980 yuan charge.

Martin later reported the case to the police, who arrested the gang members and their boss, a man surnamed Yang.

Due to police crackdowns, many organized crime gangs have become involved in more complex businesses, according to the report. Police have recently focused much more attention on shady dealings in the logistics and transportation industries, which have been a hotbed of organized criminal activity since 2009. Local police have arrested 47 people in nine gangs for illegal competitive practices, according to the report.

The Shanghai municipal government severely punishes public security bureau directors who allow criminal gangs to remain in their districts. A director can be fired if police from another district find a gang operating in his district for more than half a year.