BEIJING - Reported criminal cases involving guns and explosives in China decreased by 20 percent year-on-year in 2023, the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.

Public security authorities successfully solved around 20,000 such cases last year, leading to the arrest of 20,000 suspects.

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In May 2023, the ministry teamed up with the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, as well as other departments, to launch a three-year special operation to crack down on illegal activities related to firearms and explosives.

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Following unified deployment, various regions and departments swiftly solved a number of such cases, confiscated illegal firearms and explosives, and eliminated potential safety hazards related to these items, according to the ministry.