More than 100 held as Chinese police break up fake glue gang

CHINESE authorities have arrested 103 people suspected of being involved in a multi-million dollar counterfeit glue ring that made products purporting to be ones manufactured by German adhesive brand Loctite.

Police in Shanghai seized more than 470,000 fake Loctite adhesive products and labels, worth 50 million yuan (£5.5million) in a raid earlier this month, reported Chinese state media. Five factories and warehouses were also forced to shut down.

The authorities were acting on a tip from April that fake Loctite products were being sold on the market in China, and found that two gangs were implicated in the manufacture and sale of the counterfeit adhesive products since late 2018.

An employee who used to work in quality inspection at a Loctite factory started an underground company that produced the fake glue products, while another gang recycled waste and labels for reprocessing.

Fakes are a headache for foreign firms operating in China, many of which have long complained about a lack of protection for intellectual property rights in the world’s secondlargest economy. Poor quality fakes can damage the image of their brand.

Intellectual property theft is one of the main issues in the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China, especially when it comes to hi-tech trade secrets.

The US has brought many cases against Chinese nationals for stealing sensitive military technology and agricultural products – everything from fighter jet engine designs to patented corn seeds.

China, however, has long said it is working on strengthening intellectual property protection.