Police have investigated 1,267 mafia-style crimes and confiscated more than 4 billion yuan ($588 million) in China since a nationwide crackdown against gang crimes began in 2006, a senior official of the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday.

More than 89,000 people allegedly involved in gang crime have been detained and more than 13,000 gangs were broken up, said Liao Jinrong, deputy director of the criminal investigation bureau of the ministry, at a press conference.

Most of the gangs were involved in the construction, mining, transportation and wholesale sectors, he said. More than 2,700 guns were also seized.