Twin brothers Zhang Bo and Zhang Tao (front two in yellow) are taken under escort out of the Second Intermediate People's Court in Chongqing after first trial for running criminal gangs, Friday, November 6, 2009. They were each sentenced to 17 years in jail. [Photo: sina.com.cn]

Twin brothers Zhang Bo and Zhang Tao were each sentenced Friday to 17 years in jail for running criminal gangs as the crackdown on organized crime in southwest China continued.

The brothers were also fined 100,000 yuan (14,647 U.S. dollars) each, according to the ruling of the Second Intermediate People's Court in Chongqing after first trial.

Twenty-one members of the gang received jail terms ranging from six months to 13 and a half years, a court spokesman said.

Zhang Bo and Zhang Tao, born in 1986, were convicted of running criminal gangs in Chongqing since 2007. Members of their gang, mostly jobless men aged under 30, were all equipped with knives, the spokesman said.

The gang ran underground casinos in at least three suburban towns of Wanzhou District over the past year. Their illicit income covered the gang's running costs, including the members' wages, he said.

They seriously injured at least five people in several conflicts, and illegally detained a man for more than 24 hours.

The mobs destroyed 22 gaming machines at a neighboring Internet cafe after two of them suffered gaming losses last year.

The court official said the gang had seriously disrupted social order in Wanzhou District and caused panic among the residents.

Chongqing started a massive crackdown on organized crime in June, exposing deep ties between police and criminals. Warrants have been issued for the arrest of more than 800 people, and 327 people have been prosecuted.