Scenes from an undercover report on counterfeit handbag factories in May.

China is the undisputed king when it comes to making fake items, be they fake photos, salt, Viagra, drugs, or even policemen. But there’s one fake item China really excels at producing: fake handbags.

Police in Guangzhou have announced that they have busted the mother of all fake Louis Vuitton handbag rings worth RMB 1 billion, reported QQ News. The criminal ring utilized an official-looking website to sell counterfeit versions of LV bags to foreign consumers.

Fourteen suspects have been arrested and six factories that featured up to 27 production lines have been shut down.

The gang had 494 half-completed products, around 11,000 finished products complete with stamped LV logos in storage, and another 18,000 processed leather items.

READ: Fake Designer Bag Workshops Thrive in Guangzhou,
Protected by Officials

Earlier in May, a report detailed how one counterfeit luxury handbag factory was able to produce more than 100 fake Prada bags per day and sell over 3,000 fake bags every month to earn revenue worth several hundred million yuan a year.

The counterfeit handbag factory is comprised of a sophisticated apprentice program where workers master the ability to create one part of the fake handbag, and then teach the skill to another worker.

Related:

• Fake Hermes Factory Busted, Ring Leader Given Life in Prison
• 140,000 Fake Viagra Pills Seized in Shenzhen
• Report Uncovers Unlicensed Stores Selling Smuggled Fake Over-the-Counter Drugs
• Phew! Images of Disemboweled Tiger in Guangzhou Were Fake
• China, Land of the Fake…Policeman?
• 26 Tons of Inedible “Fake” Salt Seized in Guangzhou

Photo: Guangzhou Daily