China jails brothers for running criminal gang

CHONGQING - A court here Friday sentenced brothers Zhang Bo and Zhang Tao to 17 years in prison for running a criminal network in southwest China, an official said.

The accused were also fined 100,000 yuan ($14,647) each by the Second Intermediate People’s Court in Chongqing, Xinhua reported.

Twenty-one other gang members received jail terms ranging from six months to 13 years, a court spokesman said.

Zhang Bo and Zhang Tao have been running a criminal network in Chongqing since 2007.

The gang members are mostly unemployed and are under the age of 30, the official said.

The local administration started a crackdown on criminal gangs in June, exposing the deep ties between police and criminals.