Chinese police have busted more than 100 underground gun factories and arrested thousands of suspects in a nationwide crackdown on illegal weapons, state media said Tuesday. But police also said violent crimes involving the use of guns and explosives had dropped markedly in recent years, Xinhua news agency said, quoting the Ministry of Public Security.
In a three-month campaign that began in June, police cracked down on 113 operations which illegally manufactured and traded guns and closed 365 illegal explosive factories, it reported.
Police seized 117,000 guns, 2,445 tons of explosives, 4.8 million detonators and 3.37 million bullets, it said.
They also detained 4,684 suspects and arrested 1,794 people over the posession of explosives, guns or knives, it said.
But a ministry spokesman said in the first seven months this year, explosion and gun violence cases had dropped by 17.7 percent and 15.7 percent respectively compared with the same period last year.
According to the ministry, China has witnessed a drop in the number of explosions and gun violence cases each year since 2001.
Xinhua did not reveal how the public acquires the weapons and ammunition, but previous media reports have said China's police and soldiers sometimes illegally sell firearms to make money on the side.
Owning firearms or weapons is largely illegal in China, although hunters in some regions are allowed certain types of guns.
Source: Agence France-Presse
