China's public security organs have cracked 18,000 criminal cases and seized 24,000 criminal suspects since they started to open doors to visitors and petitioners in May, a police spokesman said Thursday.

The successful settlement of the cases helped save economic losses estimated at 120 million yuan (US$14.8 million), said Wu Heping, spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security.

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2005)