Hong Kong's most wanted man has been arrested in Guangdong along with 17 gang members for a chain of crimes including murder, kidnapping, robbery and smuggling explosives. Cheung Tze-keung, 43, and the others have admitted the offences, committed over the past eight years, it was reported by Xinhua yesterday. They now face execution. The gang was said to be connected with the smuggling of 800kg of explosives from the mainland to Hong Kong. It was alleged that Cheung and the gang plotted acts of terrorism, vendettas and blackmail with firearms seized in Yuen Long in January this year. The gang was also linked to two kidnapping cases in May 1996 and September last year when they blackmailed two business tycoons' families for ransom totalling $1.6 billion. Millions of dollars were found in the bathroom of a house belonging to a gang member at the time of Cheung's arrest. In January and November 1995, the gang committed murders and robberies in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The gang was also linked to raids on jewellery shops in Kwun Tong and Shamshuipo in June 1991 and March 1992 netting $7 million - cases in which convicted gunman Yip Kai-foon was suspected of having been involved. A police spokesman in Hong Kong said the gang - 14 of whom are Hong Kong residents - would face trial on the mainland where some of the offences were planned and committed. It was the first time mainland authorities had admitted the arrest of Cheung, alias 'Big Spender'. His friend, Wu Chai-shu, 48, was believed to be among the others being held. Cheung's girlfriend, Law Yim-fong, 36, and Wu's wife complained to the South China Morning Post in March that the pair had been missing on the mainland since January. It is understood that the Guangdong Public Security Bureau and Beijing's Public Security Ministry had been involved in cracking the case. The Xinhua report said: 'The thorough investigation by the Public Security institutions revealed the gang has been committing quite a number of serious and violent crimes on the mainland and in Hong Kong since 1990.' The report said the Public Security institutions had obtained sufficient evidence after recovering part of the haul which included guns, rounds of ammunition, explosives and money. 'During the investigation, the SAR police gave a great deal of support and co-operation,' the Xinhua report said. Commissioner of Police Eddie Hui Ki-on praised the crackdown by mainland authorities. Mr Hui said: 'The Hong Kong Police will continue to provide assistance and co-operation, as in this case, to mainland authorities in the ongoing effort to combat criminal activities.'