Over 2009, the Chinese police has placed thousands of individuals under arrest as a part of a drive against internet pornography, as has been confirmed by officials, all the while vowing a deeper and more intense crackdown which is being seen as the authorities' way of tightening overall censorship.

The country's Government has been involved in running a highly public campaign against what the officials shared were "banned smutty and lewd pictures overwhelming the country's Internet and threatening the emotional health of children".

As shared by the officials on Thursday, the latest figures say that the crackdown on internet porn has now led to 5,394 arrests and registering of 4,186 criminal case investigations over the past year, which is an increase of about 4 times when compared with such cases recorded for 2008.

The announcement, shared on the Ministry of Public Security's website, mps. gov. cn, has vowed that the drive would be more intense over 2010, also the police would definitely "intensify punishments for Internet operations that violate laws and regulations".

There have been no further information on the 5,394 suspects arrested, and it is unknown whether they were charged, released or prosecuted.