Police in the central province of Khanh Hoa said Thursday they had handed over to their Chinese counterparts two dangerous Chinese criminals wanted by Interpol since 2007.

According to Interpol, Xie Jing Ping, 39, and Xie Ying Po, 42, have been charged with a series of violations involved in gangland killings, illegal gambling rings, wildlife smuggling, election destruction, and property damage.

Xie Jing Ping (L), 39, and Xie Ying Po, 42, were arrested in Nha Trang City on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Khanh Hoa police

The Chinese brothers had been on the run for a long time and illegally entered Vietnam in April via the Cambodian border.

They were arrested from a luxury apartment on Tran Phu Street in the coastal beach city of Nha Trang on Sunday.

Khanh Hoa Province, home to Nha Trang, has received more than 700,000 Chinese tourist arrivals so far this year.

However, the central province has become a notorious magnet for Chinese fugitives on the run.

Last November, the provincial police seized two Chinese criminals wanted by Chinese police for swindling.

Five months earlier, two Chinese nationals turned themselves in at the Khanh Hoa police station after Chinese police issued an international arrest warrant for them.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Vietnam skyrocketed 37 percent to 2.15 million in the first five months this year, official data show.