CHINESE and American police have jointly captured three suspects involved in the production and cross-border sale of counterfeit automobile airbags, the Ministry of Public Security announced yesterday.

    In July, the United States Department of Homeland Security informed the ministry that people in the United States had been caught placing orders on the Internet for counterfeit airbags from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province in China, and selling them on the U.S. market.

    The three suspects, including a man 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 (US$15.7) 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 launched a criminal investigation into two U.S. citizens who were purchasing and selling the goods in question.

    The case marks a fulfillment of agreements reached between the Ministry of Public Security and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during a meeting in April, the ministry said.

    (Xinhua)