China police busts fake, smuggled cigarette rackets

BEIJING - The police have busted counterfeit and smuggled cigarette rackets nationwide worth 766 million yuan (114.67 million U.S. dollars), the Ministry of Public Security announced Sunday.

In total, 541 suspects have been arrested, 900,000 cartons of fake or smuggled cigarettes were seized and 1,078 tonnes of raw materials confiscated, said the ministry.

Last week, police in 161 cities began a joint mission to address economic crimes related to cigarettes.

Police in 25 cities discovered a cigarette-counterfeit network, which was active across 10 provinces, arresting 58 suspects and seizing 60 million fake cigarettes in addition to machines and raw materials worth more than 100 million yuan.