BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Reported criminal cases involving guns and explosives in China decreased by 20 percent year on year in 2023, the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.

Public security authorities successfully solved around 20,000 such cases last year, leading to the arrest of 20,000 suspects.

In May 2023, the ministry teamed up with the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, as well as other departments, to launch a three-year special operation to crack down on illegal activities related to firearms and explosives.

Following unified deployment, various regions and departments swiftly solved a number of such cases, confiscated illegal firearms and explosives, and eliminated potential safety hazards related to these items, according to the ministry.