In 2006, the Public Security Departments (PSDs, i.e. the Police) at all levels in GD severely suppressed criminal infringement of IPR, achieving considerable success. They investigated 396 criminal cases of IPR infringement and product counterfeiting, cracked 288 cases and arrested 806 criminal suspects. All those cases involved RMB 360 million worth of goods.

Criminal protection by GD police was manifested in three areas. First, special campaigns were carried out to strike against IPR infringement crimes. The Action Mountain Eagle II, which started in March, focused on cracking severe cases, destroying criminal organizations, arresting major criminals and uncovering criminal networks. During this action, GD police investigated 196 cases of IPR infringement crimes, cracked 137 of them and arrested 264 suspects. All those cases involved RMB 280 million worth of goods, and an economic loss of RMB 96 million was recovered. Second, the police cracked down on criminal gangs making and selling fake cigarettes. The PSDs and tobacco administration authorities jointly launched special operations to combat criminal gangs. In those operations, 122 illegal production sites were destroyed, 275 counterfeit cigarette machines confiscated, and 456 suspects imposed criminal penalties, among whom 47 major criminals were sent to prison. Through persistent raids, the crimes of cigarette counterfeiting were effectively suppressed and an economic loss of nearly RMB 2 billion was recovered. Third, GD police severely cracked down on crimes of pirating software and audio-visual products and other forms of piracy. Government departments in GD, including PSDs, Culture departments, Press and Publication authorities, Copyright bureaus, Customs, and Administrations for Industry and Commerce (AICs), cooperated in carrying out the "One-Hundred-Day Campaign Against Piracy". The campaign was aimed at uncovering illegal optical discs production lines, and punishing key criminals. In 2006, eleven such illegal production lines were seized, over 40 criminals arrested, and more than 15 million pirated optical discs and other pirated products confiscated.

In 2006, PSDs across GD took the offensive and succeeded in cracking a good number of major IPR infringement cases and destroying a batch of cross-region criminal gangs integrating production, supply and sale of IPR infringing goods. In March, collaborating with the tobacco authority, Zhanjiang municipal PSD destroyed two large-scale sites for producing and selling counterfeit cigarettes. This case involved over RMB 17 million, with 31 suspects arrested and 26 sent for prosecution; after court trial, 20 of the criminal suspects were put into prison, and the maximum term of imprisonment reached 11 years. In June, under the leadership of GD Provincial PSD, the police in Guangzhou and Chaozhou launched the Source Cleaning Operation to crack down on crimes of making counterfeit medicine, arresting 36 criminal suspects; this operation involved altogether nearly RMB 100 million worth of goods. In July, led by GD Provincial PSD, Guangzhou police cracked cases of counterfeiting SK-II and Shiseido products, arresting 19 suspects and destroying 5 production sites; the cases involved approximately RMB 140 million worth of goods. In September, Shenzhen police destroyed a site that produced and sold fake printer cartridges of world-famous brands, arresting 3 suspects and seizing 3,000 counterfeit EPSON and CANNON printer cartridges. The successful cracking of those major cases proved to be a forceful deterrent against IPR infringement crimes.

Editor: Wing