3,000 China mobsters sentenced since 2006

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Chinese officials say more than 3,000 reputed gang members have been locked up or executed for organized crime activities since January 2006.

The tally was announced Sunday by the Supreme People's Court and was part of a continuing effort to curb violent crimes and the organizations behind them, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Zhang Jun, vice president of the SPC, said from January 2006 to June 2009, 3,089 suspects were convicted in 700 trials. Sentences ranged from five years in prison to death.

Xinhua said the report did not break down the numbers of defendants who were executed or sentenced to life in prison.