Carrying a local map and thousands of Buddhist prayer beads, 15 fake monks and nuns travelled throughout southwest China's Sichuan Province to scam money.
The public security bureau of Ziyang City, Sichuan Province, have detained all of the suspects at a hotel, seizing more than 9,000 Buddhist prayer beads, pendants and Buddha cards.
In early November, police found a resident from Lezhi County arguing with a monk and a nun on the street because he was forced to offer "religious endowment" after being given a Buddhist prayer bead for free.
Much to investigators' surprise, the monk and nun were actually a couple and were travelling with 13 other suspects.
The troupe of suspected scam artists, all from east China's Anhui Province, would offer beads and pendants purchased at a wholesale market for a very low price to people in the street. If they accepted the "gift" they would demand money in the form of donations, according to the police.
In Lezhi County alone, they swindled more than 10,000 yuan (around 6,400 U.S. dollars) from local residents, said the police.
Further investigation is under way.
Fake monk is not something taken lightly in China, especially in rural areas where those impersonating monks in order to cheat money often go unchecked. One high-profile case resulted in two 'temples' being shut down in 2013 in Mount Wutai, a sacred Buddhist mountain in north China's Shanxi Province. Six people were also arrested for swindling tourists out of donation money.
