Police campaign to eliminate illegal firearms, explosives yields results

A total of 19,000 guns, 520,000 bullets, 12 tons of explosives and 54,000 detonators have been seized by public security organs across the country so far this year, the Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday.

According to Li Jingsheng, director of the ministry's security administration, police have cracked over 8,600 cases involving 22 gangs related to firearms and explosives since the beginning of this year, and about 8,300 suspects are now in custody.

Last year, the ministry launched a three-year special campaign to crack down on crimes related to guns and explosives nationwide. Li said efforts have been made to seize such items, reducing their stock in the country.

"In order to eliminate safety hazards from the start, public security organs also conducted a security sweep of over 120,000 factories and enterprises manufacturing firearms and explosive items, eliminating more than 8,200 hazards that could have caused security problems," said Li.

Meanwhile, security organs are also publicizing crimes related to firearms and explosives. During the campaign, police are encouraging people who own such items illegally to turn them in and are offering rewards to those who can provide evidence of firearm and explosives-related crimes.