Chinese arrested for making 'fake Chinese cigarettes' at illegal tobacco factory

Police have arrested a group of Chinese people who have been illegally manufacturing cigarettes by secretly setting up a tobacco factory in a residential area in the middle of Seoul.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's mobile patrol arrested eight people, including a Chinese man, on charges of violating the Tobacco Business Act on the 12th.

They are accused of operating two illegal tobacco factories in Daelim-dong, Seoul, for about a year from last year, making and selling 1.3 billion won worth of cigarettes.

The group was caught in a police investigation that received a report from residents while setting up factories and making cigarettes in the basement of buildings in elementary schools and residential areas, respectively.

Police said they found 280 kilograms of tobacco leaves and 1,300 cartons of cigarettes at the scene, some of which were so-called "fake cigarettes" that stole the brand of cigarettes favored by the Chinese.