176 criminal gangs nailed down in Shanghai since early June: police

A total of 1,178 members of 176 criminal gangs have been caught and detained since early June.

Assets of the gangs worth 170 million yuan (US$25 million) have been temporarily seized.

An anti-gang-crime taskforce from the national government has been working in Shanghai since early this month collecting clues, investigating  crimes and supervising the work of local police.

Loan frauds and blackmail are some of the most complained about mafia-like gang crimes in Shanghai.

Shanghai police said they will start a one-year campaign to crack down on loan frauds to root out such crimes, based on opinions from the national taskforce.