North China's Taiyuan city has arrested 77 members of mafia-style gangs since a special crackdown was launched on Oct. 19.

Fifty-four of them have been put under detention, said Lei Yuzhi, deputy head of the Public Security Bureau of Taiyuan, capital of coal-rich Shanxi Province.

The campaign targets mafia-style and evil forces which have disturbed rural grass-roots elections, land requisitions and existed for long in mining, construction, logistics and tourism sectors.

"Mafia-style criminal gangs caused an extremely vile impact in society," said Lei at a news briefing on Friday. He vowed to continue to clamp down on these evil forces.

Wang Rulin, secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, urged an intense crackdown on corrupt officials and mafia-style gangs in October.