A gang involved in more than 200 robbery cases has been smashed by Guangzhou police, the Southern Metropolitan News reported Thursday.

Most of the gang members are hearing and speech impaired people.

Sixty-seven members, including kingpin Zhu Quanli, have been caught while more than 520,000 yuan (US$62,878) of illicit money has been seized together with mobile phones and bags.

Police said the ring had conducted more than 200 criminal cases in Guangzhou since June with more than 3 million yuan (US$362,463) involved.

They usually knocked at parked or stopped cars pretending to talk to the drivers and then robbed them of their property when the drivers opened the doors or windows. They also stole things from cars whose doors or windows were not locked well.

Such cases in Guangzhou have dropped by 90 percent after the gang was uncovered in October.

Police advised drivers to put their valuables in secure places, seal the cars properly and be careful when a stranger comes up.

The well-organized group had a strict ranking system and a clear division of work, police said. Incomes were distributed like an enterprise while persons in charge at different levels got fixed annual salaries. Zhu took 160,000 yuan (US$19,331) per month.

The gang members were separated from society and were requested to commit offenses in teams from Monday to Friday regardless of the weather. Every team was required to earn at least 6,000 yuan (US$724) every day.

(Shenzhen Daily December 26, 2003)