China's Ministry of Public Security released details of 10 major piracy cases involving infringement of foreign intellectual property rights (IPR) Tuesday.

Between August and September this year, police forces from Tianjin Municipality and Henan Province joined hands with the United States customs authorities to destroy a transnational fake drug manufacturing and sales network involving 11 countries, seizing 440,000 counterfeit filters, worth 40 million yuan (US$4.9 million) and 260 kilograms of materials. Eight suspects were arrested.

In June, the police from Tianjin arrested two persons suspected of selling 25.65 million pieces of fake medicine, worth 1.7 million yuan.

In March, the public security bureau of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province in east China, arrested a group of pirates led by a Lebanese national who had been engaged in manufacturing and selling counterfeit versions of international cosmetics brands worth US$2 million. The police seized 1.6 million packs.

In February, Shanghai police arrested three Taiwan residents who had been involved in the selling of counterfeit car parts of famous Japanese makers, worth about 10 million yuan.

In January, the police in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, destroyed a network manufacturing fake Gillette shaving devices, worth 30 million yuan.

In November, Shanghai police arrested six suspects, including a British national, who were involved in illegally manufacturing and selling fake cosmetics worth more than 5 million yuan. The British national was expelled from the country.

(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2005)