(Photo: VCG)

Beijing courts have convicted 271 people for their involvement in 65 organized crime cases in the first-instance judgment from January 2018 to the end of last month, Beijing High People's Court said in a news conference on Tuesday.

Forty-six of them were sentenced to more than five years' imprisonment, and properties worth 127 million yuan ($18.5 million) have been recovered and confiscated or returned to victims, according to the high court.

The Communist Party of China Central Committee, in conjunction with the State Council, launched a three-year campaign in January 2018 to crack down on organized crime. One national inspection team finished a month of inspection work in Beijing on June 30.

Lan Xiangdong, vice-president of Beijing High People's Court, noted that to ensure the progress of the campaign, courts in Beijing will further strengthen the teams working on criminal case trials and promote the professionalization of trials related to organized crime cases.

Beijing has now set up 40 trial teams to deal with organized crime, Lan said. "We will put more effort into training the staff and set up a scientific assessment index system for the trials of gang-related cases."

The courts in Beijing will also reinforce the investigation of tipoffs about organized crime and improve the verification procedures of the information.

Lan also stressed that courts in Beijing will continue to carry out self-inspection activities to investigate whether the court officials are involved in gang-related crimes or act as a protective umbrella for criminals.

The high court also has set up a working mechanism with the discipline inspection team, sent by the Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Supervision Commission of Beijing, so that the inspection team can determine whether violations have occurred during trials on gang-related crimes.

The campaign this year is mainly targeting local officials who protect offenders and criminals. From last year until the end of July, 34 national inspection teams headed by ministerial-level officials will complete the inspection of 34 provinces and regions around the country to ensure the smooth process of the ongoing crackdown on gang-related crime.

Information sharing and transmission between municipal departments are also required in the campaign. As of the end of June, courts in Beijing have transmitted 397 clues to relevant departments including the commission for discipline inspection, the supervision commission and public security organs in every district for further investigation. Thirty-five cases have been filed based on these clues.