Chinese police arrest 15 people in crackdown against counterfeit alcohol
Police broke up three gangs running workshops that made counterfeit bottles of famous brands
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Chinese police have arrested 15 people suspected of producing more than 55,000 counterfeit bottles of brands of fine alcohol, which enabled them to sell off poor quality booze at top-drawer prices, the Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
Police in Quanzhou city, in the southern province of Fujian, broke up three gangs running workshops that made fake bottles of several famous brands of baijiu, a fiery Chinese spirit, it said.
The suspects would buy cheap liquor for about 10 yuan a bottle and pour it into the counterfeit bottles, which ended up being sold in cities across the country for up to 400 yuan ($62) each.
The haul could have earned the con-men 100 million yuan ($15.58 million), Xinhua said.
At least two of the workshops had been operating since 2015.
China has increased its efforts to improve food safety after a series of scandals stoked public concern. However, liquor stores, restaurants and supermarkets still wage a constant battle against fake alcohol.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments