FUZHOU -- Police in East China's Fujian province said Friday that they had arrested 116 people suspected of telecom and Internet fraud.

In November last year, police received a report of people setting up Internet companies to conduct fraud. Preliminary investigation led to a company in Nanping city that was carrying out a precious metal, crude oil and futures exchanges scam.

Further investigation revealed more companies in Xiamen, Sanming and Hefei, capital of Anhui province. The companies hired young people and used social networking software to induce people to open accounts and make transactions through fake trading systems.

In January, police busted six dens and arrested 116 suspects in an operation. More than 440 computers and mobile phones were also seized. Over 50 million yuan was involved in the scams.

An investigation is ongoing.