The British newspaper, The Telegraph, recently alleged that the Chinese Communist Party has set up 54 police stations around the world. This included London and New York City.

Some are allegedly disguised as restaurants and others as real estate companies.

The Washington Free Beacon provides more details:

The Chinese Communist Party runs 54 police centers outside of China, 36 in Europe alone. One of the two in London claims to be a real estate company, while one in Glasgow operates in a Chinese restaurant.

The expansion of these overseas police stations comes as human rights activists warn that China is harassing political dissidents on foreign soil. Some political exiles say China is misusing Interpol to bring back dissidents, including foreign nationals, the Telegraph reported.

While the stations say they help Chinese travelers with paperwork, researchers have found that they are actually “hunting down and blackmailing Chinese citizens to force them to return home.” According to the human rights organization Safeguard Defenders, the centers’ activity “is all taking place under the radar,” unseen by police and the public.

READ: China Expands Its Secret Police Stations Around the World

Not sure if this is related: READ: NYPD cop accused of spying for China ordered detained