Police authorities in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, have detained nine people for operating a fake Olympic website to cheat money out of people.

They were suspected of cheating 300,000 yuan (US$41,660) out of more than 100 people from across the country, by goading them into depositing at least 1,000 yuan (US$140) each to get a cash award 20 to 40 times as much, plus a ticket for this summer's Olympic Games, sources with Nanjing police said.

The two leaders of the ring, surnamed Xu and Chen, did not even finish high school but were Internet gaming addicts. With the help of their friends, they created a phony Olympic sponsorship website in December at www.2008cga.com.cn. Whoever visited the website was encouraged to sign in as its member to win an award.

All the "lucky" award winners said they never realized it was a scam until after their cash remittance.

Police began to receive reports of the fraud on Jan. 4 and chased all the way to the southern island of Hainan, where the nine suspects were seized on Jan. 27 and 28.

In December, a computer engineer named Liao Peigui got a six-month jail in Beijing for operating a fake Olympic website. He was accused of cheating 3,000 yuan out of two.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2008)