2nd round of trials begins in China gang crackdown

A second round of trials began Tuesday as part of an ongoing assault on organized crime in the western city of Chongqing, state media reported.

Leaders of four alleged gangs comprising dozens of members are being tried on charges including murder, illegal gun possession, racketeering, and money laundering, the China Daily newspaper and China News Service news agency said.

An initial round of trials produced lurid details of collusion between gangsters and local officials and resulted in sentences being handed down last month of up 18 years.

Separately, a Chongqing gang boss was executed last month after being convicted of heading a criminal organization that ran various scams, sold drugs, operated illegal casinos, and demanded protection money.

Up to 2,900 suspects, including 14 high-ranking government and police officials, have been detained in the crackdown, details of which remain somewhat sketchy.

In what appeared to be the single largest trial, hearings began Tuesday at the Chongqing No. 2 Intermediate court into 22 charges, including murder, assault, loan sharking and running illegal casinos in high-class hotels, brought against 26 members of a gang headed by Chen Zhiyi.

A court clerk confirmed the trial had begun, but refused to give any details or his name.

Three other trials opened elsewhere in the city, China Daily reported, although it didn't say how many suspects were due in court.

People who answered calls to city government offices, courts, and police headquarters refused to release any information as is common among Chinese bureaucrats under strict orders to maintain secrecy.

China Daily said a third round of trials was being readied to include wealthy gang boss suspects who had been appointed to seats on local legislative and government consultative bodies.

In a separate report, CNS said Chongqing's mayor was replacded on Monday, although there was no clear link to the organized crime crackdown.

Longtime Chongqing politician Wang Hongju, who took office in January 2008 is one of a half-dozen provincial and district officials rotated out of office in recent days. Wang, who was being replaced by a vice mayor, Huang Qifan, was just short of the standard retirement age for local officials of 65.