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26 held in US-China joint arms crackdown

Chinese and US police arrested 26 suspects in a joint crackdown on a major transnational arms trafficking ring.

Among the suspects, 23 were arrested in China, while the other three were nabbed in the United States, Chinese Ministry of Public Security said.

A total of 105 guns, some 50,000 bullets and a 'large amount' of gun components were confiscated in both the countries, ministry statement released late last night said.

It said the investigation stemmed from the detention in August last year of a 32-year-old Chinese man, Wang Ting, at Shanghai's Pudong Airport after he attempted to claim an overnight delivery package that was labeled as stereo equipment but actually contained nine handguns and additional parts.

Subsequent investigations revealed a 25-year-old Chinese Lin Zhifu, living in the United States since 2009 had been shipping firearms to Chinese buyers contacted online using courier services. The group mailed the arms through UPS Express to middle men like Wang, who would, in turn, sell the arms to buyers in China, citing the statement, Xinhua reported.

'As the arms involved in the case were mostly from the United States, the ministry reported to the United States promptly and requested the US side to launch an investigation into the source of the arms,' it said.

A special team from Homeland Security Investigations for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement was sent to Shanghai to plan on the case with Chinese police in January this year. Lin and 23-year-old Li Lilian were arrested later for illegally trading firearms in the United States.
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