At least 77 members of mafia-style gangs have been arrested in north China's Taiyuan city since a special crackdown was launched last month, an official said Friday.
Of the 77 arrested since Oct 19, 54 people have been put under detention, Xinhua quoted Lei Yuzhi, deputy head of the Public Security Bureau of Taiyuan, capital of coal-rich Shanxi province, as saying.
The campaign targets mafia-style forces which have disturbed rural grass-roots elections, land requisitions and existed for long in mining, construction, logistics and tourism sectors, he added.
"Mafia-style criminal gangs caused an extremely vile impact in society," said Lei. He vowed to continue to clamp down on such "evil forces".
Wang Rulin, secretary of the Shanxi provincial committee of the Communist Party of China, urged an intense crackdown on corrupt officials and mafia-style gangs in October.
