Shanghai Customs officers inspect masks that turned out to be fakes. They seized nearly 120,000 counterfeit masks that carried the "3M" trademark, officers said on December 8, 2015. (Photo/Weibo account of CNTV)
(ECNS) -- Nearly 12,000 counterfeit 3M brand masks have been seized by Shanghai customs, the Economic Information Daily reports.
Shanghai customs this year has launched a campaign targeting fake products. The newspaper said customs staff found that some African firms had ordered 3M masks in China, yet sales by the 3M company had not increased.
After an investigation, customs seized two batches of fake masks, which also led local police to a counterfeiting factory in the city.
Those masks were poorly made with inferior materials, and don't meet the purifying standard, 3M said, adding that wearing fake masks would pose health risks.
Smog in parts of north China has prompted people to buy air purifiers and masks. Alibaba searches for masks and air purifiers have surged 148.4 percent and 56.5 percent month-on-month in the past 30 days, and many sellers ran out of stock, a Xinhua report said.
