WUHAN - Police in Central China's Hubei province have detained 90 suspects in connection to an alleged telecommunications fraud case.

The suspects were caught at four major locations in the city of Enshi. More than 100 computers were confiscated, according to police in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, which administers the city.

An initial investigation found that most of the suspects are neighbors and classmates who illegally purchased personal information of members of the public. They extorted money from victims in various provinces using web phones.

The group had conducted more than 4,000 events of fraud before being detained.

Further investigation is under way.

Earlier this year, seven people were sentenced to prison in East China's Shandong province for involvement in a telecom fraud case linked to the death of a teenager.

Xu Yuyu, a high school graduate from Linyi, died of cardiac arrest in August 2016 after being defrauded out of 9,900 yuan (1,500 US dollars), which she intended to use to pay university tuition fees.