The leader of a criminal gang that abducted, raped and sold 33 women has been arrested in eastern Anhui Province, a local newspaper reported today.

Cao Xiusong, in his 50s, was accused of abducting women from Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces and selling them to buyers in his native Dingyuan County, the Anhui Business News said.

He went hiding in Huaibei, a city 210 kilometers away from Dingyuan after escaping a police raid in 1991. The officers arrested other gang members and freed the kidnapped women.

More than 10 gang members were imprisoned and several were executed.

Police captured Cao one morning last month in a mountain near Huaibei. He confessed to his crimes after the arrest, the paper said.

Police hunt for another fugitive, Lei Xianzhong, is continuing after Cao disclosed his whereabouts.