Over 270 held in China fake military ID scam

Beijing: Over 270 people have been arrested in China for selling fake military IDs, including those of generals, to people at a whopping price of over $2 million.

The arrests were made after an investigation uncovered 15,000 pieces of false military equipment, including imitation guns, uniforms, logos and other items that were labelled “military use only,” state-run Beijing News reported.

The IDs, including the high military ranks of generals, were sold for as much as 15 million yuan ($2.28 million).

“We’ll put every effort into fighting against these criminals. In fact, some of the counterfeit military equipment, such as the imitation guns and uniforms can still be found quite easily on China’s online platforms,” state-run Global Times reported.

More than 270 people were arrested after a military investigation unearthed the massive ID scam.

In a three-month campaign against fake IDs, which started in July, two imposters posing as a general and a senior colonel of the 2.3-million strong People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were held.

They would boast to possible clients that 15 million yuan could buy them the rank of senior colonel, the report said.

On China’s largest online shopping website taobao.Com, people can easily get fake or second-hand military goods, with prices varying from 14 yuan to 3,000 yuan.