Chinese police arrested 4,544 people for stealing oil, damaging pipelines, and illegally drilling for oil or gas in the past year, the Ministry of Public Security announced on Wednesday.

Police also broke up 437 gangs during a crackdown on oil-related crimes in 2006, and more than 9,000 tons of oil has been seized, a ministry official said.

Tempted by soaring oil prices, people living around the pipelines in remote country areas were reported to be drilling into pipelines, siphoning oil, and selling it to small backyard refineries.

The official cited a case in the northern province of Hebei, where police broke a major ring suspected in 268 oil thefts.

Nearly 50 people, including the alleged head of the ring, Zhu Changyong, were arrested, said the official, adding the case had been forwarded to prosecutors.

The ring had allegedly stolen more than 2,500 tons of crude oil and almost 100 tons of aviation fuel since 2000, incurring losses of more than 40 million yuan (5.12 million U.S. dollars).

The official said police were trying to engage oil companies in crime prevention measures. Companies and local governments last year mobilized 27,882 people for pipeline security.

The country's two largest oil companies -- China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) -- reported a drop of more than 20 percent in the number of oil thefts last year, the official said.

Source: Xinhua