BEIJING - Chinese environmental authorities handed out punishment in 11,114 cases in the third quarter of this year, as the country reinforces a crackdown on environmental violations.

Violators were fined a total of 483.45 million yuan ($78.9 million), the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a statement on Monday.

Environmental authorities at all levels transferred 371 cases of suspected environment-related crimes, such as discharging heavy metal or persistent organic pollutants, to the police for criminal investigations.

East China's Zhejiang province tops the list of cases transferred to police, with 173 cases uncovered in the region.

Many companies involved have been shut down, according to the ministry.