Eighty people in a pyramid scheme that had been exposed by police retaliated by attacking police and security guards, Xin'an Evening News reported on Monday.

The group rushed into a residential zone in Hefei, Anhui province, on Saturday morning, beat up the lead security guard and struck him with a brick, according to the report.

Police arrived after a security guard made a call, and the group claimed it would “teach the police a lesson”. Some started to beat up a policeman and even tried to take away his gun, the report said.

Reinforced special policemen brought the situation under control and the injured were taken to hospital, said the report.

Among the 80 people taken back for interrogation, 19 were put under criminal detention and one under administrative detention. The rest were sent back to their hometowns, said the report.

According to the report, police swept an illegal pyramid-selling den a couple of days ago, and the group returned for revenge on Saturday.