12 people arrested in connection with a multi-million dollar counterfeit lubricants ring
Detectives successfully raided the offices of Shanghai Fujiu Lubricants Technology Co, uncovering a gang that allegedly amassed a fortune by selling fake branded goods to local consumers.
The company traded products under popular brands such as Shell, ExxonMobil and Castrol, recording revenues of 26m yuan ($4m) and a net profit of over 3m ($480k) yuan. The outfit is believed to have traded over 3000 tons of counterfeit lubricants products.
A local businessman first brought the lubricants to the attention of local authorities after he found a batch of products purchased from the company to be of questionable quality. After investigating the matter further, Shanghai detectives raided the company and arrested 12 people in connection with the ring, many of whom were caught in the process of attaching fake label to lubricants products.
According to the police report, many of the lubes were priced slightly lower than their genuine counterparts, costing between 300 to 400 yuan per barrel.