More than 30,000 suspects have been detained by the Beijing police in a massive online crime crackdown effort that started in 2011, recent statistics showed.

The Public Security Bureau of Beijing said it started its anti-cybercrime campaign three years ago, targeting online offences, cleaning the online environment, and maintaining Internet security.

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According to authorities, the Beijing police apprehended over 23,000 people in relation to cybercrimes in 2013, which is six times more than the number of online crimes suspects that were arrested in 2011.

Police said Beijing houses more than 70 percent of China's biggest online firms and there are over 900,000 registered websites in the capital. Due to the massive number of Internet companies and websites in the city, there is also a high number of reported cybercrime incidents.

In 2011, the bureau created a department aimed at improving Internet security in the city, in order to prevent the further increase of online offenses and as a start to its cyber-crime crackdown which tackled gun purchases, human trafficking, rumor spreading, and online fraudulent activities.

In April, Qin Zhihui, also known as Qin Huohuo, was sentenced to three years in prison by the Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court for spreading rumors and moral defamation.

In August, Yang Xiuyu, better known as popular micro-blogger Lier Chaisi, was tried in a Beijing court for fraudulent activities after he gained profit from publishing rumors online.

According to police officer Wang Qi, of the Huaqingyuan community police station, battling online crime is now a major part of his job.

Wang said they sometimes get tips from the online security office regarding potential online offenders, which helps them make an arrest.

He said crimes that were previously done in the traditional way have now become electronic, which makes it even harder for officers to conduct investigations.

TagsChinese police, Chinese society, Society news, cybercrime, anti-cybercrime campaign, defamation, online crimes