Rewards offered for tips in Guangdong gun crackdown

The government crackdown on guns and related crimes will be intensified in the southern province of Guangdong, with police providing rewards of up to 50,000 yuan ($8,140) for tip-offs on such crimes.

According to a statement from the Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security, locals will be awarded between 1,000 and 50,000 yuan when they tip off police with clues that lead to crackdowns in cases involving weapons.

The biggest reward will go to those who provide information that leads police to illegal weapon production locations, or that results in the seizure of at least 10 guns, according to the statement, which was released on Tuesday.

"The move aims to encourage more locals to tip off the guns and related crimes to police and help maintain good social order in a prosperous province," the statement said.

Gun-related crimes have increased in recent months in Guangdong province, which borders the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

In a special operation launched in July, police seized 12,115 assorted guns and detained 142 suspects.

The weapons seized during the operation, which began at 4 am and lasted 31 hours, included rifles and handguns. Some of the weapons were semi-automatic.

Police also seized more than 27,000 bullets and over 50,000 plastic bullets, as well as a large number of gun parts, during the special operation code-named Lanjian, or "Blue Arrow".

The operation took place simultaneously in the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, Dongguan, Zhanjiang, Yangjiang, Qingyuan and Yunfu, the statement said.