What happens to old liquor bottles when they die? If it's in China, they might end up back on the bar shelf, filled with something other than pure alcohol.
At least 10 people were arrested and more than 7,000 bottles of phony whiskey, cognac and other spirits were seized following a months long investigation into a nationwide bootlegging operation in China.
The gang collected empty, discarded bottles of name brand liquors and then filled them with generic drinking alcohol blended to taste, look and smell like the real deal. Wine samplers said the fake alcohol would easily have fooled ordinary consumers. This guy and his "associates" sold the stuff to nightclub managers around China who denied knowing it was fake, despite its heavily discounted price. The scheme began to unravel after police in the eastern port city of Tianjin received a tip from the China office of a Hong Kong liquor industry association that "spurious" liquor was being sold in the city on an usually large scale.
The guy was arrested with several others at his makeshift bottling plant in southern China and faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
The case highlights the broad scope of fakery in China, where gangs counterfeit pretty much everything they can get their hands on.
An intellectual property rights crackdown launched last year, designated "Operation Mountain Eagle" has led to the cracking of more than 1,800 cases involving more than 1.3 billion yuan in sales of counterfeits. Result!
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