Police in Liuzhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, have arrested 58 suspects for producing and selling guns illegally and confiscated 40 foreign military guns.
According to a notice published on the official WeChat account of the Liuzhou police on Thursday, under the unified deployment of China's Ministry of Public Security, local police cracked down on a large international criminal organization of gun dealers on Tuesday. A total of 58 suspects covering 16 provinces and cities have been arrested and two dens for manufacturing and storing guns have been raided.
Moreover, police confiscated 40 foreign military guns, a pistol and 14 aerodynamic guns. They also seized various types of bullets, grenades and other accessories.
The investigation showed that the suspects purchased guns from other countries, dismantled them and then sent them to Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province. The guns eventually were sent to other cities across the nation through express delivery services.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, police in Guangdong detained four people for selling and possessing guns without licenses, and seized 14 guns and hundreds of bullets, in March.
In January, police in Dalian, Liaoning Province uncovered a gang selling guns online. An investigation showed that a gang was manufacturing guns, selling them through WeChat, a popular chatting app.
The manufacture and sale of guns is illegal in China, and members of the general public are not allowed to own firearms.
Anyone found in possession of a gun can face up to seven years in prison.
