Over 8,200 detained as China launches year-long crackdown on organised crime

Chinese authorities have initiated a year-long crackdown on organized crime, resulting in the detention of over 8,200 suspects and the dismantling of more than 1,000 gangs, just 10 days after the country's top security official announced the campaign. The Ministry of Public Security emphasized that the crackdown targets the evolution of crimes into more covert forms, such as online predatory lending, soft-violence debt collection, coerced consumption, and online harassment.

These new types of crimes significantly disrupt the economic and social order, undermining public security.

The campaign follows a series of previous efforts against organized crime since 2018, with police in various provinces, including Henan and Shandong, making significant arrests for crimes like extortion through malicious complaints against online shops and causing traffic accidents to extort compensation. Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary Chen Wenqing acknowledged the need for further research on the characteristics and patterns of organized and gang-related crimes in new circumstances, urging police to persist in their efforts and "turn the blade inward" to uproot the gangs' protective umbrellas, or officials who enable such activities.

Several police chiefs have been removed from their positions due to misdeeds, including protecting organized crime. The crackdown will conclude before the 21st National Congress of the Communist Party, which is expected to be held in the autumn, potentially leading to a leadership reshuffle and the endorsement of a fourth term for President Xi Jinping.

According to a People's Daily interview with an unnamed Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission official, the number of organized crime cases has decreased, and public safety has continued to improve since the 20th party congress in 2022. In 2025, the number of criminal cases filed nationwide dropped by 12.8%, the lowest since the beginning of the century, and homicide rates fell by 8.7%, also the lowest in recent history.

The official stated that the public reported feeling satisfied with the campaign, with 94.55% reporting satisfaction and 98.23% expressing a sense of safety.

The new campaign aims to focus on emerging trends, such as local criminal gangs in towns and neighborhoods, the sand and mining industries, as well as cybercrime, including blackmail from "naked chats," illegal lending, unlawful debt collection, and forced consumption. Xi has emphasized the importance of targeting not only gang members but also corrupt officials who protect them.

In recent weeks, police across China have solicited tips about gang-related crime, with one notice in Xian, Shaanxi province, listing ten new types of crimes, such as doxxing, illegally obtaining others' information, sexual extortion, and using fake prices to trick individuals into making purchases.