501 held in China's prostitution crackdown

501 suspects and 73 gangs have been held during a crackdown on prostitution and pornography, the Ministry of Public Security said on Monday.

The police uncovered over 1,300 cases of organizing, luring or introducing sex services. 2,410 locations including hotels, karaoke bars and saunas, have been shut down, the ministry said.

The large-scale crackdown came just hours after a China Central Television (CCTV) program on Feb. 9 exposed rampant sex trade in the southern city of Dongguan.

Yan Xiaokang, vice mayor of Dongguan and head of the city's Public Security Bureau, has been removed for dereliction of duty.

An unidentified official with the ministry said public security organs at different levels should learn lessons from the Dongguan case and carry out a "persistent" and "deepened" crackdown on crimes involving prostitution.

The official asked them to focus on organizers, operators and the "protective umbrella" of the sex trade.

The ministry reiterated its stance on prostitution, saying that leaders of public security organs will be held accountable if they are found to be in dereliction of duty.

Statistics from the ministry showed last year police apprehended 19,000 suspects and broke up 6,323 pornography-related gangs, with 12,000 cases being solved.