The police have cracked a large mafia-style gang that was involved in crimes related to the sex trade, drugs and gambling in the Fangcun area of Guangzhou over the past decade, detaining 62 suspects and arresting 51 of them.

The gang controlled a number of restaurants, hotels, Internet cafes, nightclubs and mahjong parlors in Fangcun, Guangzhou Daily reported.

It was engaged in illegal business operations, power supply facilities theft, usury, kidnapping, intentional injury and extortion.

The gang was the agent for two overseas gambling websites for China, generating 120 million yuan ($19.57 million) in betting funds in 2010 alone.

liwenfang@chinadaily.com.cn