Chinese police have destroyed 113 illegal gun factories and shops in a crackdown on weapons and explosives, an official with the Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday.

"From June 2 through Sept. 10, the police also ordered the closure of 365 factories and shops that illegally produced or sold explosives for civilian use," said Yan Zhengbin, deputy director of the ministry's public security bureau, at a press conference in Beijing.

He said in the first seven months, explosion and gun violence cases had dropped by 17.7 percent and 15.7 percent respectively compared with the same period of last year.

The ministry launched a four-month crackdown, starting in June, on explosives, guns, ammunition and forbidden knives.

According to the ministry, China has witnessed a drop in the number of explosion and gun violence cases each year since 2001.

"From June 2 to September 10, police dealt with 48,393 people suspected of possessing explosives, guns or knives, 4,684 of whom were detained, 1,794 arrested and 923 taken to court," said Yan.

Chinese police seized 2,445 tons of explosives, 4.81 million detonators, 2.62 million meters of fuse, 117,000 firearms, 140,000 replica firearms, 3.37 million bullets and 1.27 million knives from June 2 through Sept. 10.

Yan said people have been very supportive of the campaign. Nearly 60 percent of the 117,000 firearms seized were turned in voluntarily. The police also received 14,173 tip-offs about crimes involving firearms, explosives and knives, which helped the police resolve 4,380 cases and arrest 8,433 suspects.

"The campaign has had a positive impact. The general public has been mobilized to take part in a people's war against the illegal production and possession of explosives, guns, ammunition and knives," said Yan.

Source: Xinhua