Beijing: A car drives up and screeches to a halt outside a quiet riverside teahouse. Gunmen emerge, shots ring out; three men drop to the floor, dead. The car speeds off, and in a matter of seconds, a gangland execution is complete.

It is this graphic narrative that sets the scene for what China’s official state broadcaster described as the most “wicked” and "enormous" organised crime gangs to rule the streets of Sichuan, a thriving province in the west of China.

Being prosecuted on suspicion of six murders and other gang-related crimes: Liu Han. Credit:AP

At the centre is alleged billionaire kingpin Liu Han, whose company, Hanlong Group, was given the all-clear by the Foreign Investment Review Board to take over Australian iron ore miner Sundance Resources in 2012.

The fallout has been embarrassing for all concerned. A former Hanlong executive in Australia, Calvin Zhu, was found guilty of insider trading and sentenced to two years and three months in jail. Another executive facing insider trading charges, Steven Xiao, skipped bail and was arrested in Hong Kong last month.