Two hundred and sixty-one suspects have been arrested in Beijing in the latest crack down on theft, robbery and fraud in the capital, police said.

By Friday, 336 crimes resulted in arrests after a 1,200-strong plain-clothes police team spread out over the city last Tuesday, said the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

The plain-cloths police, about ten percent of whom were women, were armed. They focused on crowded places such as bus stops, railway stations, hospitals, restaurants and business districts.

The campaign marked the start of a crack down by plain-clothes police on street crimes in Beijing in advance of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, said the bureau.

The campaign will also ensure Beijing's streets are safer during the upcoming Sino-Africa Forum in early November, which will be attended by more than 40 national leaders and 4,000 representatives, said the police.

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2006)