Beijing police snared 900 pickpockets in 2017

Beijing police busted 80 pickpocket gangs last year and detained nearly 900 suspects, the capital's public security authority said in a statement on Thursday.

Most suspects were caught in crowded public places such as bus stations, subways and shopping malls.

More than 2,000 stolen mobile phones were seized over the past year, and the number of cases the bureau solved increased.

"We busted a big pickpocket gang in Haidian, seized 525 stolen cellphones in Changping and caught four suspects in Tongzhou," a police officer said in the statement.

In addition, the bureau also focused its attention on Tian'anmen Square, detaining a gang of 38 suspects and seizing more than 288 stolen mobile phones in two weeks last year.