Arms trafficking gangs cracked

SHANGHAI - A police investigation that caught a gang allegedly trafficking in firearms and ammunition online in East China's Jiangsu province led to a nationwide crackdown that uncovered 366 cases, the Ministry of Public Security said on Thursday.

It all started in May when police in Jiangsu province found a five-member gang, headed by 31-year-old Zhou Zhaoping from Yixing city, was using the Internet to sell guns and ammunition.

Since May 2008, Zhou published sale information on firearms and ammunition through his three online stores on the China Hunting Forum and QQ groups, said Huang Shihai, the ministry's publicity official, on Thursday.