On November 15, Foshan police arrested 10 people and seized more than 4,000 bottles of counterfeit spirits worth nearly RMB3 million, according to reports.
The raid was announced at a press conference on November 24, where authorities revealed they had been monitoring the fake booze operation since October after a tip-off from a local resident.
Among the counterfeit alcohol seized were blue label whiskies and cognacs labelled as Remy Martin and Hennessy, according to The Drink Business. While it only costs counterfeiters between RMB400-500 to reproduce the name-brand spirits, the bottles can be sold for a huge profit, with one bottle of fake blue label whiskey selling for over RMB1,000.
According to police, the operation was run out of a decrepit building in Foshan’s Nanhai District and had a highly organized production line that included filling and bottling, as well as distribution.
This latest booze bust comes after several months of police raids on fake beer producers in neighboring Guangzhou.
While official numbers on fake alcohol in China are nonexistent, Jack Daniel’s parent company, Brown-Forman, estimated last year that around 30 percent of all booze in China is fake.
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[Image via The Guardian]
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