Counterfeit cigarettes seized

A total of 9.28 billion counterfeit cigarettes were seized nationwide last year, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) announced recently. Law enforcement agencies raided 3,876 counterfeit cigarette warehouses and rounded up 7,026 people in connection with the false brands, prosecuting 3,492 people. Law enforcement agencies also solved 5,505 cases, each of which involved more than 50,000 yuan. Among those, 49 cases were valued at more than ten million yuan. In 2006, the country seized 9.07 billion counterfeit cigarettes and cracked 24 major cases. Each was valued at more than 10 million yuan and resulted in the prosecution of 2,313 people in total. China's tobacco industry generated 388 billion yuan in taxes and profits last year, a 25 percent year-on-year increase, according to the STMA.

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