Chinese police, in cooperation with U.S. police, have captured three suspects involved in the production and cross-border sale of counterfeit automobile airbags, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced Monday.
In July, the United States Department of Homeland Security informed the MPS that people in the United States had been caught placing orders on the Internet for counterfeit airbags from Guangzhou, China, and selling them in the U.S. market.
The MPS then ordered Guangdong police authorities to investigate the case.
The three suspects, including one surnamed Yang, were later found to have produced fake airbags since 2014 and sold them via the Internet, including to foreign countries.
In mid-September, police raided a production site and confiscated over 500 airbags bearing false brands, including Mercedes, Audi, Toyota and Honda, as well as more than 1,600 unfinished airbags.
The counterfeit airbags, with a production cost of about 100 yuan (15.7 U.S. dollars) each, were sold at a wholesale price of more than 300 yuan each, and later to customers by auto garages at a price of more than 1,000 yuan.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a criminal investigation into two U.S. citizens who were purchasing and selling the goods in question.
The case marked a fulfillment of agreements reached between the MPS and the U.S. Debarment of Homeland security during a meeting in April, according to the MPS.
