China detains 99,000 telecom fraud suspects

Chinese police have cracked 1,18,000 cases of telecom fraud and detained 99,000 suspects during their "Cloud Sword" operation launched in June, the Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday.

According to Xinhua news agency, the figures marked a year-on-year increase of 62.7 per cent and 135.6 per cent, respectively, said Liu Zhongyi, director of the criminal investigation bureau under the ministry, at a press conference.

In the operation, the ministry has sent police from 13 provincial regions to Cambodia, the Philippines and Laos, and the four sides cooperated to destroy a large number of fraud dens and brought a total of 2,553 telecom fraud suspects back to China.

"The pursuit of the fugitives achieved the best result in eight years," Zhongyi said.

The number of fugitives captured during the campaign reached 2,43,000, 96 of whom were on the ministry's class-A wanted list, figures from the ministry show.IANS