Fifteen Chinese Christians have been taken into custody in the northeastern city of Langzhong in Schezuan province in China after local police officers discovered them attending a Bible study.

More than 20 policemen barged into an ongoing church service in March and arrested the attendees. Authorities also seized some church properties during the arrest. Media equipment including the projector, air conditioner, and chairs were among those sequestered.

The Christians who were taken were accused of gathering illegally and charged with "gathering a crowd to disturb public order," reports the Christian human rights organization China Aid. They remained in custody for 15 days.

Langzhong Church pastor Li Ming revealed that this is not the first time that policemen have singled out Christians in their arrests. Some members who attend his church have also been detained in the past for participating in their activities and all their equipment confiscated. In 2003, China Aid reported the arrests of a pastor and lay leaders in the same city as they practiced musical instruments in their house church. 

In the northwestern province of Xinjiang, ten members of the Fangcheng Fellowship were detained late in January. Among those imprisoned for 15 days and fined were Zhu Xiaohua and Chen Xiangyan.

"The police said that we might be controlled by bad people, but I promised him that we knew what we were doing, because we believed in Jesus, not someone bad," narrated Chen to China Aid. "They would not listen to me and directly transferred us to the detention center. They fined each of us 1,000 Yuan ($145). We didn't receive a receipt until now," she added.

Some house churches located in Guangdong, Guangzhou and in Beijing have also been targeted by the police in recent months.

The crackdown on house churches in the country has intensified as many Christians refuse to join the state-run Three-Self Patriotic Church.