Chinese police have arrested 201 suspects in an infringement of citizen's personal information case, the Ministry of Public Security said.

The case sprawled 25 provincial regions across China. Police in the northeastern province of Liaoning had gathered large amounts of details regarding the trade of citizen's personal information nationwide ever since looking into a specific case in November 2015, leading to the ministry to set up a special investigating team to deal with the case.

Initial investigations showed nine gangs were involved. Each gang consisted of information sources together with three levels of agents. Personal information was sold to agents who would then trade the information on popular social media platforms such as WeChat and QQ.

Personal information, including bank records, air travel records, Internet browsing history and personal mail details, was sold for use in telecom and online fraud or blackmail.

Personal information infringements have increased in recent years, leading to a rise in fraud and racketeering, according to the ministry, which has increased efforts to fight such crimes and protect the public's interests.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2016)