Beijing police said on Wednesday they had detained seven people for allegedly producing and selling counterfeit cigarettes, some bearing the Beijing Olympic Games emblem on the packaging.

They were arrested on May 28 when police raided a house in Nanwusheng Alley, Chongwen District, where falsely branded cigarettes and production machines were found, said the Chongwen Branch of Beijing Public Security Bureau.

Police confiscated 258 cartons of cigarettes and a large amount of packaging materials. More than 80 cartons had the brand names "Olympic Zhonghua" and "Olympic Beijing" and carried the Beijing Olympic emblem.

The police also seized 238 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes, including 23 cartons with the Olympic logos, in a cigarette shop in the capital's Fengtai District after the suspects allegedly confessed to supplying the shop.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2008)