Chinese police arrest 42 for mask production violations

Chinese police have arrested 42 people for hoarding and driving up the price of the cloth material used to make face masks, as well as illegally producing shoddy and inferior material for resale.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement Friday that a nationwide task force had been formed to crack down on crimes related to the production of masks, which almost all Chinese wear when in public and many in their offices and even homes as a safeguard against coronavirus.

That has led to scarcities in many places and severe price increases, especially in online sales.

The ministry statement said raids in the southern industrial hub of Guangdong and three other provinces in early and mid-March resulted in the breaking of 20 cases and the seizure of material worth more than 34 million yuan (almost USD 5 million).

China has become a major exporter of masks and the raw material for making them, and sought to tighten quality standards following complaints from some countries about inferior products.