Hundreds detained in pyramid selling crackdown

A crackdown on pyramid selling in Guangdong province has led to hundreds of arrests and asset seizures.

The operation, code named Jufeng 21, involved more than 480 suspects in 60 separate cases worth a combined total of 2 billion yuan ($295 million), according to Wu Wuqiang, deputy director of Guangdong provincial department of public security's economic criminal investigation bureau.

"Police have also frozen 550 bank accounts, houses and stores owned by the illegal pyramid sales gangs," Wu told a news conference in Guangzhou on Tuesday.

One gang in Jieyang was infiltrated in April by an officer who joined their WeChat group, which they used to communicate and organize.

The gang was found to have 110 members, who were detained in 30 separate locations, while 120 bank accounts were also frozen for further investigation.

This one scheme is thought to have involved more than 200 million yuan ($30 million) and its members came from 31 provinces, regions and municipalities.

In Foshan, police detained more than 170 suspects and took possession of 20 houses that were used for illegal activities after breaking up another pyramid sales scheme in mid-September. The Foshan case involved 500 million yuan.

Wu, from the crime investigation bureau, hinted that more campaigns would be launched to fight pyramid selling in Guangdong province in the months ahead.

Police across the province have investigated more than 680 cases related to pyramid sales in the first nine months of this year, up 24 percent year-on-year.

A total of 1,370 suspects were detained from January to September, an increase of 71.3 percent compared to the same period in 2015.