Chinese police department issues “wanted” playing cards of suspects

World Today

Photo: CFP

The Binyang Police of South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has created five different series of playing cards printed with the faces of wanted suspects. The move is an attempt to inform residents of suspects at large and get any assistance possible in capturing them.

More than 240 cybercrime suspects were printed on the cards, and each card lists their description, ID card number, full address of their birthplace, and an itemized list of their crimes. On the back of each card is a police hotline.

A new stack of “wanted” cards (Photo: CFP)

The practice of putting the faces of wanted suspects is not a new phenomenon. In 2003, during the Iraq War, the U.S. famously circulated a deck of cards with 52 of the most wanted targets in Saddam Hussein’s government.

According to the Binyang Police, it has printed 150,000 packs of cards with the faces of local suspects and distributed them to residents for free. They are offering at least 2,000 yuan (about $304) for any lead of value.

The Binyang Police told CCTV News that they hope the cards help to clamp down on cybercrime.

Over the past year, cyber fraud has spiked with the rising number of Chinese people having easy access to the Internet.

Story by CCTV News