An old saying goes that women who refuse to hold their bags tightly to their chest while walking on the city's streets are surely not Guangzhou residents.

And the saying has been particularly true in this southern Chinese city in recent years.

Most local residents, particularly women, hold onto their bags tightly to prevent them from being stolen.

But a senior Guangzhou police officer said yesterday that times have changed for the better.

"The social order in Guangzhou has been greatly improved," said the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Public Security's Fangcun Branch Director Huang Zhiqiang.

Huang made the remarks at a press conference after Guangzhou police busted one of the biggest gangs in the city, detaining a total of 52 suspects.

Guangzhou's Jian Zhuxing, 43, the suspected mastermind behind the criminal gang, was among those collared.

A machine gun, four pistols, three hunting rifles and ammunition, a bullet-proof vest, 35 knives, 11 cars, two vans and many other ill-gotten gains were seized.

More than 3 million yuan (US$363,000) worth of cash and undisclosed amounts of narcotics and jewellery were also confiscated.

After years of investigation, the gang was targeted during a special crackdown in March, Huang said.

The gang was being investigated in connection to crimes that included murder, assault with intent to injure, theft, sexual assault, kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking, all of which allegedly occurred in Guangdong Province over the past several years.

The gang was formed as early as 1987, when Jian hired local jobless people to serve as his henchmen.

(China Daily May 28, 2004)