Shanghai police have confiscated more than 5,000 counterfeit Pop Mart toys, including the popular Labubus, for a total value of more than CNY12 million (USD1.7 million).

After receiving reports from customers, the police from Shanghai’s Xuhui district arrested all eight members of a criminal gang that began selling fake toys last November and raided its warehouse, confiscating all products, Yicai learned from law enforcement.

One of the gang members has been criminally detained on charges of selling counterfeit registered trademark goods. The seven others are also subject to criminal coercive measures enforced by the police.

Shanghai police will further investigate upstream production companies and other online stores as part of their follow-up efforts, it pointed out.

Consumers should always purchase through legitimate channels, verify products’ authenticity by scanning anti-counterfeiting codes, check the stickers on the packaging, inspect embossed logos, and examine details, the police noted.