Shanghai police have busted a gang producing and selling counterfeit Nike sneakers involving more than 120 million yuan (US$18 million).

According to the Shanghai public security bureau, 15 members of the gang, along with the leader surnamed Tian, have been nabbed.

Officers inYangpuDistrict began an investigation in July this year. Police raided the gang’s workshop in the city of Putian, east China’s Fujian Province, on November 6, seizing more than 60,000 pairs of knockoff Nike sneakers, over 100,000 pairs of semi-finished shoe products and 500 sets of equipment used for manufacturing the fake goods.

A police investigation revealed that the production racket had been in operation since January 2019 and the counterfeits were being sold through online channels.

The gang manufactured the counterfeits based on demands from online shops, said police, adding that they were also producing hot-selling Nike limited edition sneakers and even fraudulently putting Nike’s trademark label on the shoes.

The fraudsters provided the fakes, which had quality problems, to vendors who sold them at prices around 20 percent to 50 percent of genuine products under the guise of internal purchases, leftover stocks and promo codes.

The fake products cost only 50 to 80 yuan to produce, according to Shanghai police.