Cross-border telecom fraud gangs busted

Beijing police have busted two cross-border telecom fraud gangs, detaining 29 suspects and uncovering more than 20 related criminal cases, police said on Wednesday.

The 29 suspects, along with 54 other suspects from Taiwan and three from Malaysia, established two bases in Malaysia in March this year and illegally obtained more than 5 million yuan ($816,000) in more than 20 telecom fraud cases, said Kang Tao, a police officer with the criminal investigation department of the Beijing police force.

The 29 suspects from the Chinese mainland were detained by police in May and transferred to Beijing on June 11.

As of May 31, Beijing police had uncovered 3,900 telecom cases, up 60 percent year-on-year, and detained 125 suspects from 10 gangs.

Most victims were women, especially those in their 30s to 50s, Beijing police said.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau will launch a campaign from now until the end of the year to crack down similar telecom fraud gangs and also to raise awareness.