Police have cracked a big gang involved in the abduction and trafficking of almost 200 women and children in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The 46-strong gang kidnapped and sold over 150 women and 27 children in six provinces, including Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Hebei and Henan.

In December last year, three children in Mile County, Yunnan, were reported missing. On Dec. 13, Ding Xiaoming, father of one of the missing children noticed Chen Qiaolin, who was suspected of kidnapping his son, in Mile. He informed the police, who quickly arrested Chen and rounded up the rest of the gang after an investigation lasting nearly a year.

The gang members were allegedly assigned different tasks and had formed a ring. They used anesthetic, deceit and kidnapping to traffic women and children.

Police have arrested 37 of the 46 suspected gang members.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2003)