Chinese police arrested 14,000 suspects for stealing oil, damaging pipelines, and illegally drilling for oil or gas in the past five years, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced Tuesday.

Police cracked more than 18,000 oil-related criminal cases, shut 9,000-odd illegal oil refineries and seized 76,000 tons of oil in the five years, according to the MPS.

A MPS official said on Jan.24, 2007, the country's two largest oil companies, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation and China National Petroleum Corporation, reported a drop of more than 20 percent in the number of oil thefts last year.

The MPS promised to intensify the combat against oil-related crimes this year, focusing on eight provinces and regions including Shandong, Hebei and Ningxia.

(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2007)