Guangdong police seized more than 200 million yuan in fake notes after busting a counterfeiting organization wide open, according to a press conference held by Guangdong’s Provincial Public Security Department on Jan. 16.
This is the biggest counterfeiting case in China in recent years. A total of 14 arrests were made.
Forged bills displayed at the press conference. (Photo: Chen Zhigang)
“The ring set up the factory in a beer warehouse,” said a police officer. “Passersby would not suspect anything, regarding it as a normal business premises.”
Equipment used for producing the fake notes was impounded. This case has disrupted distribution networks for fake notes in eastern Guangdong and it is believed not a single fake note has made it to market.
Furthermore, a massive criminal network involved in stealing, unlocking and selling smartphones across the province has been successfully busted. Guangdong police raided over 50 dens known to be selling stolen smartphones in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as the breaking the industrial chain responsible for jail-breaking iPhone IDs. A total of over 9300 smartphones and 74 computers were seized. The total value involved is up to 30 million RMB.
Smartphones seized during the campaign displayed at the press conference.
“Citizens are advised to call their network provider to freeze SIM cards immediately if their smartphone is unfortunately stolen”, an official from he Guangdong Public Security Department stated “The second step is to, freeze bank cards, and untther the phone from Alipay, Wechat or other apps involving online payment. Finally, don’t forget to report the case to the police as soon as possible”.
Last year, Guangdong police launched a series of special campaigns aiming at cracking down on telecom and online frauds financial and drug-related crime and other criminal activity across over 30 provinces.
“15 thousand suspects were arrested and an estimated three-billion-RMB of citizen’s property was recovered in 2017”, said Lin Weixiong, deputy director-general of Guangdong’s Provincial Public Security Department on the achievements of the campaigns during the press conference on Jan. 16th.
A total of 16 campaigns targeting telecom and online fraud were taken on both in the domestic and overseas arena last year. The number of telecom and online fraud cases has decreased by 1.4% year-on-year, while the economic loss has seen a 9.2% year-on-year reduction. Guangdong police has solved 50% more cases than in 2016, and made 10.1% more successful arrests.
Author: Sylvia Xu, Yomi Ko
Editor: Simon Haywood, Steven Yuen
