They are being tried on more than 10 criminal charges including co-ordinating underworld organizations, assault, blackmail, bribery, gambling, and possession and sale of firearms.

With such a large number of suspects and criminal charges, Beijing Public Security Bureau described it as "one of the biggest ever gang-related criminal cases in the capital."

The gang, headed by Hu Yafeng and Hu Yadong, is suspected of organizing crimes in northeast Beijing's Shunyi District since 1996, disrupting local social and economic order.

Hu Yadong, 35, and Hu Yafeng, 44, started a business illegally buying and selling scrap vehicles in the late 1990s. From April 2004 to last January, they illegally operated a sand quarry in Shunyi and earned 2.7 million yuan (US$337,500). They recruited dozens of hatchet men and formed a well-organized gang.

According to the prosecution bill, in 1996 Hu Yadong sent some mobsters to beat a man surnamed Zhang, because Zhang would not send his car to Hu's vehicle repair shop. Half of Zhang's right ear was cut off.

In June 2004, Hu tried to manipulate a village election by forcing villagers to vote for a man he was familiar with.

Last April, with the help of Chang Yousheng, director of a city inspection team in Shunyi District, Hu's gang members dressed up as city inspectors and extorted local rubbish collectors.

Local prosecutors said Zheng Ge, a police officer with Shunyi detention house, and Liu Haiying, an interrogator with Shunyi Public Security Bureau, were bribed and offered protection.

In April 2004, another local police officer Peng Yinsheng dined out with Hu Yadong while he was in detention.

The three police were not in court yesterday, and authorities would not confirm what kind of punishment they would receive.

The gang received police attention in early 2004 because of reports from members of the public. Investigation proceeded slowly as victims would not talk in fear of revenge, but last May about 40 gang members, including the two heads, were arrested.

The trial will last for eight days. More than 20 lawyers attended the hearing yesterday.

Du Hangwei, deputy director of the criminal investigation bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, warned that gang-related crime is "on the rise" in China, as society is going through tremendous economic and social changes.

In February, the ministry launched a crackdown on gang-related crimes. Ministry figures show that more than 1,000 gang-related crimes are under investigation.

At least 30 criminals have received jail terms of more than five years, life imprisonment or the death penalty.