An official from Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Procuratorate announced yesterday that they have instituted legal proceedings against suspected gang members who were arrested last March, and that they will soon be brought to trial.

Around 35 suspects, including Jian Zhuxing, the suspected chief of the illegal organization, will face 11 charges, including murder, rape and drug-related offences.

"The Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court has now arranged to open a special hearing on the case," said the official.

It will be the biggest crime ring the courts in Guangdong Province have ever handled, the official told China Daily.

The principal defendants and key members of the gang will likely face death sentences if they are found guilty, according to a local lawyer.

The gang was smashed after city police detained 52 suspects, including Jian, a 44-year old Guangzhou resident.

A machine gun, four pistols, three hunting guns, 94 bullets, a bullet-proof vest, 35 knives, 11 sedan cars, two vans and two motors were amongst the goods seized.

Drugs and more than 3 million yuan (US$362,757) in cash and jewelry were also confiscated.

The gang is thought to have committed many murders, assaults, robberies, rapes, kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking in Guangzhou's Fangcun, Yuexiu and Baiyun districts and neighboring regions over the past years.

It is believed that the gang was created as early as 1987, when Jian hired local jobless people as hatchet men. They are suspected of involvement in 39 murder and kidnapping cases between 1999 and 2003.

They have also been investigated for participation in operating casinos, loan sharking, money laundering, protection rackets and other illegal activities.

(China Daily February 22, 2005)