BEIJING, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- China will greatly enlarge the special division in the Ministry of Public Security dealing with gang-related crimes, said a senior official with the ministry over the weekend.

    China Daily reported on Monday that number of officers in the organized crime investigation division will expand from the existing six to 26, to include three task forces, Huang Zuyue, deputy director of the ministry's criminal investigation bureau, said during an online interview on the ministry's website.

    Provincial- and city-level police authorities are also trying to set up special forces to crack down on gangs, Huang said.

    Huang said that gangs based at markets and bus and train stations, as well as new types of gang-related crimes such as illegal debt collection and "underground policing", will be a major target in the crackdown.

    Huang also encouraged the public to offer tips to police. He said last year, the bureau had received 979 major clues from the public for investigations, which "greatly helped police work", China Daily reported.

    Meanwhile, in another high-profile fight against human trafficking, police across the country had rescued 3,455 children and 7,365 women from April to the end of December last year, China Daily quoted Huang. A total of 1,684 human-trafficking groups were smashed and 2,895 cases were solved.