Protection racket: Millions of TOXIC condoms seized in China after police raid gang who were selling knock-offs that cost 1p each to make

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3050283/Millions-toxic-condoms-seized-China-gang-caught-selling-knock-offs-cost-1p-make.html

- Three million condoms seized in Shanghai, thought to be worth £1.3m
- Tests found they contained toxic metals that could be danger to health
- Police uncovered a large network operating across eight provinces
- Officers said lubricating oil used at one workshop made them feel sick

By EMILY CHAN and OLIVIA CHAN FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 14:52 GMT, 22 April 2015 | UPDATED: 15:19 GMT, 22 April 2015
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Millions of fake condoms sold by a gang across China have been seized by police after they were found to contain toxic metals.

Police in Shanghai revealed today that they had seized three million knock-off condoms - thought to be worth nearly £1.3 million on the black market - after they broke up a large operation covering eight provinces.

Officers said the lubricating oil used on the condoms at one production line in Henan province was so disgusting that it made them feel sick, according to the People's Daily Online.

Heavy metals are toxic metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic.

However, officials did not reveal the exact metal traces found during the tests.

The fakes were packaged as popular brands such as Durex and cost just 1p to make - 30 times less than the market value.

Cheap raw materials - consisting of plastic strips and elastic bands - were used to make the condoms in makeshift workshops.

But the gang still sold the condoms at the regular price of £4.20 for a pack of 12 via their own online shop, contacting potential customers via social media.

The counterfeit condoms were also sold at motels across the country.

One woman in the Yangpu district of Shanghai had been running a workshop in a run-down residential property, employing local workers to make and package the condoms.

The woman, who had already been arrested in 2013 for selling fake Viagra, was arrested along with eight others.

Zhang Wenliang, a police officer from Shanghai's Yangpu district Public Security Bureau, said: 'At a workshop in Henan province, we found a small production line which produced bad-quality condoms. The lubricating oil made us vomit.

'We sent the seized condoms to the quality authorities and tests showed they contained heavy metals. They are very dangerous to humans.'

Police said the gang had nine production lines and warehouses across the country.

The fake condoms were sold in Henan, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shaanxi provinces.