Ten people have been arrested for making and selling counterfeit liquor in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, local police said yesterday.

Sources with the Zhongshan Public Security Bureau said the case involved alcohol with a street value of more than 3 million yuan (US$360,000).

The case was listed as one of the top 10 cases targeted by the nationwide action to crack down on fake products this year, sources said.

Police confiscated 2,600 bottles of liquor and some 190,000 packing boxes and trademarks, sources said. Raw materials that could make another 5,000 bottles of booze were also seized.

Some of the liquor in this case was bottled in the original bottles but most was put in bottles that had fake labels.

Police said the look-alikes could easily fool less observant consumers.

Some famous liquor brands, such as Chivas Regal and various Vodkas, are the most vulnerable to copycats, police found.

One of the principal suspects confessed to police that they had begun making the alcohol in the early 2001 in a rented Zhongshan storehouse less than 100 square metres in size.

They bought raw spirit from other provinces, bottled it in the original empty bottles from night clubs and produced a large number of copy trademark labels.

The finished products were sold in night clubs and liquor chain stores in some other cities in and around Guangdong Province.

Police began investigating one of the suspects early in March, and have just made the arrests.

The province has strengthened efforts to crack down on the practice, demanding spirit producers intensify controls over the purchase of raw materials and the quality of their products.

Inspection of the qualifications of all booze sellers has also been stepped up.

In May last year, six people were arrested in a toxic liquor case, which left 11 people dead and 50 others hospitalized in Guangzhou.

To prevent the counterfeit liquor from entering the market, all alcohol sellers are restricted to buying their stock from producers with operating licences and quality certificates, according to a government official.

Editor: Yan