Police seize 180 guns, 3,000 gun parts in east China

Police in east China's Jiangsu Province have caught a gang making and selling guns, and seized 180 guns, they said Thursday.

More than 3,000 gun parts and 20,000 steel ball bullets were also seized after an investigation that lasted two and half months, said Cao Xiang, police chief of Jiangyan District, Taizhou.

Fourteen suspects, including the gang leader surnamed Shen, were detained in connection with the case.

Shen confessed to the illegal manufacturing, processing and selling of gun parts.

More than 3,200 people from 30 provincial areas were involved in the case, with most of them having purchased guns or parts online from the gang, Cao said.

Under Ministry of Public Security Bureau supervision, local police started an investigation in mid-April, after an express package labeled as a "fine pipe" was found to be a gun barrel.

According to police, Shen registered an online store in March. To avoid being caught, the gang sold the parts separately, and buyers would later assemble the guns themselves.

By the time of the arrests, more than 3,000 parts had been sold via the store.

In China, it is illegal for civilians to possess guns or buy and sell gun parts.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)