74 pyramid sellers seized by mainland, Taiwan police

Police in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have detained 74 Taiwanese people for organizing pyramid schemes and entrapping others into the illegal business.

Thirty-three suspects were seized in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region by local police and the other 41 were captured in Taiwan by the island's law enforcement authorities, China's Ministry of Public Security revealed Friday.

Since the beginning of 2011, a pyramid selling ring headed by Wen (surname) and Chen (surname) invited Taiwanese citizens to Guangxi for travel, business surveys and housing investments and then influenced them to carry out pyramid sales in the mainland, according to a ministry statement.

The pyramid selling ring, with more than 1,000 members from Taiwan, arranged for them to live together and brainwashed them by giving various lectures, the statement said.

Police in Guangxi detected the pyramid selling activities in March and reported them to the Taiwan police authorities, according to the statement.

The ring was busted under the joint efforts of police from both sides several days ago, the statement said, without giving the exact date.

The ministry vowed to further cooperate with Taiwanese law enforcement authorities to crack down on pyramid schemes to ensure the interests of people on both sides.