(Yicai Global) Nov. 27 -- Chinese police recently apprehended a personal information trafficking gang, whose victims include some 1.8 million stock investors, Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday. Police investigations reveal that the main suspect is a former employee at a financial firm in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province.

The gang reportedly posted advertisements on social media applications such as WeChat and QQ offering personal information of 1.8 million equity investors, allegedly obtained between June and October this year.

The information included investors' account numbers, stock companies, telephone numbers and addresses, priced at CNY0.05 and CNY0.3 per record.

A 24-year-old male surnamed Zhang, the alleged mastermind of the operation, illegally obtained the information when he worked at a Wuhan-based financial company in May. He then resigned in July and started selling the personal information on the internet with his friends.

The gang earned profits of USD2,575.84 (CNY17,000) through the activities.