Four men have been detained by Beijing police for illegally selling fake guns, local police said Tuesday.

Eight policemen stormed an apartment in downtown Xuanwu District on Jan. 10 and confiscated 12 of the imitation guns, which are popular among players of the on-line game, Counter Strike (CS), said a police officer surnamed Yang, who is attached to the Guangwai Police Station.

M14 [file photo]

Four men were detained while another was released, since he was found to have lesser involvement in the case.

The five men, averaging 22 years, had turned the apartment into a workshop for converting CS equipment and a base for selling the items on line. The products ranged from M14s and AK47s to heavy machine guns.

AK47 [file photo]

These items were initially sent to them from outside Beijing as models that shot plastic beads. These were refitted to fire laser beams. Their prices averaged from 1,200 yuan to 4,600 yuan (a minimum of about 634 U.S. dollars).

The guns, which looked almost exactly like real ones, could pose a threat to people, Yang said.

China's Law on Control of Guns clearly stipulates in Article 22 that it is forbidden to manufacture and sell imitation guns. Violators can be detained for a maximum of 15 days, and they face harsher punishment if their products led to casualties.

Police are seeking the original source of these guns and the buyers of those items.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2008)