CHONGQING: More than 600 gangsters have been arrested and 263 have faced prosecution in Chongqing during the first eight months of this year, the municipality's procuratorate said Monday.

Among those prosecuted are gangsters allegedly committing more than 50 crimes such as murder, abduction, rape, and the manufacture and distribution of drugs. Government officials accused of protecting gangs' interests also have been arrested.

The procuratorate did not give a breakdown of the government officials who have been accused, and would also not elaborate on charges against them. But officials said that since the beginning of the city's special operation to crush gangs in July, police have investigated 23 officials.