BEIJING - Chinese police have detained 510 suspects for allegedly damaging the environment along the Yangtze River in the first five months of this year, the Ministry of Public Security said Thursday.

Supervised by the ministry, police from 11 provinces and municipalities along the river launched an operation targeting offences such as illegal mining of sand from the river bed, illegal fishing, discharging waste water, and disposing of solid waste into the river, said a ministry press release.

The 510 suspects were involved in 150 cases, including one in which about 10,000 tonnes of wastes were dumped into the Yangtze River in Wuhu, Anhui province in East China.

The ministry also worked with development planning, environment, and transport administrations to fight crime, regularly sharing information and coordinating crackdowns.

However, there is still a high incidence of environmental crime in the region, the statement said, pledging that the ministry will step up the campaign.