BEIJING -- A Chinese couple suspected of illegally collecting public deposits has been extradited from Nepal, the Ministry of Public Security announced Thursday.

Chinese police brought the couple back to China Tuesday as part of Operation Fox Hunt, a campaign to catch economic fugitives hiding overseas.

The female suspect, surnamed Ding, and her husband, surnamed Dong, had allegedly illegally collected deposits from the public by promising high interest rates since January 2013, the ministry said, without disclosing the exact amount of money involved.

The wife and husband fled to Nepal in April 2015 and January 2016 respectively.

More than 170 economic fugitives have been arrested so far under Operation Fox Hunt 2017, according to the ministry.