GUANGZHOU - Police in South China's Guangdong province have busted an illegal fund-raising gang, with seven suspects detained, local police said Thursday.

The major suspect, surnamed Wang, used the Internet to raise public funds with promises of high returns, according to the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital.

Wang promoted "investment projects" in gold mine, real estate and health-keeping to the public, which drew about 770 million yuan ($116 million dollars) since February 2015, police said.

The police said the gang operated in a pyramid selling way, and most of the victims' money ended up being controlled by Wang.