Beijing airport begging ring busted

Beijing, July 18 (IANS) A 23-year-old woman and 12 disabled people have been arrested in Beijing after the woman forced the disabled to beg at the capital city's international airport, police said.

The woman from Hebei province, surnamed Su, made a profit of more than 50,000 yuan (over $7,900) a month from the begging ring, the Global Times reported.

Police said the beggars were either suffering from hearing or speech impairment. They were later released after some "education".

According to airport surveillance cameras, the disabled beggars would wake passengers sleeping on chairs at the airport terminal, showed them their disabled cards and begged for money.

Police said they found the beggars would gather in a certain place to hand over the cash they collected.

The beggars said Su recruited them on the internet. She told them she could give them a good job in Beijing which could bring them fortune.

Every noon, the woman would come to the airport to collect the money. To prevent the beggars from trying to conceal any cash, she would frisk them.

The beggars lived in a house near the airport Su had rented.