China's President Xi Jinping caught the ultimate "tiger" in his corruption crackdown with the arrest of former Sichuan senior official Zhou Yongkang, among the most influential politicians in the country.

By implementing a very carefully crafted investigation and a series of strategic arrests, Xi , 61, ensnared the biggest catch in his anti-graft campaign by putting Zhou behind bars.

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According to Business Week, this is by far the most far-reaching destruction of a Chinese leader's corrupt networks in the history of modern China.

The initial target of the corruption probe was Li Chuncheng, a deputy party chief in Sichuan who was accused of enriching his family using state funds. This was followed with the takedown of two other Sichuan officials and other individuals who had links that led to Zhou.

Under Zhou's leadership, the budget for the domestic security department exceeded that of the defense before his 2012 retirement. Zhou was also an ally of the disgraced Beijing party boss Bo Xilai, who was booted after his wife was convicted of murder.

Xi vowed to ensnare both the "tigers and flies" of the corrupt network in the Communist government. Zhou, 71, was the ultimate tiger in that network, with his power spanning across various government agencies and industries, including the security department and the oil industry.

Each of the politicians who were hit by corruption scandals could be linked to Zhou -- his colleagues, business associates, subordinates, or blood relatives.

During previous leaderships, bringing down a man like Zhou with such power was unthinkable. It would mean violating an informal rule of protecting senior officials from this kind of investigations to prevent political turmoil.

Xi exercised extreme caution in investigating Zhou's circle. He overcame opposition in the party regarding the campaign and prepared the public for a huge scandal that posed a threat to the party's reputation.

The crackdown also presents a warning to other Communist elites who accumulate personal wealth through government funds.

In a methodical way, authorities first took down Zhou's comrades in Sichuan before targeting his colleagues in the oil industry. They also rounded up his in-laws and his son, then proceeded to take down his associates in the security department. His closest advisers and secretaries, the toughest of them all, came last.

The South China Morning Post reported that Zhou was put on house arrest starting December.

Xi's anti-corruption campaign hit over 480 officials across China's biggest cities and provinces. Based on Bloomberg data, a fourth of those officials have links that were traced directly to Zhou. These officials are usually arrested in secret to deny them the opportunity to answer the charges in public.

Internal Communist party watchdog Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) led the investigation. Although the committee does not have official power to arrest or charge the officials, it is one of the most powerful organizations in the country because of its ability to detain a person indefinitely and launch a probe on party members that head China's key sectors.

According to Kerry Brown, China Studies Centre director at the University of Sydney, there is a common agreement among Communist Party members that they must purge the corrupt among them. Xi's administration concluded that they needed to take out Zhou's corrupt network to prevent the crisis from getting worse, Brown explained.

TagsZhou Yongkang, Bloomberg Businessweek, Li Chuncheng, Sichuan, Bo Xilai, South China Morning Post, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Kerry Brown, China Studies Centre, University of Sydney