Two related cases of producing and selling counterfeit goods, involving 12.49 million yuan (US$1.85 million), were heard in a Hongkou District court recently.

Thirteen people have been arrested after police learned that a scarf from British brand Burberry bought on a shopping app in October last year was fake.

According to an investigation by the Hongkou procuratorate, two couples had employed others to make counterfeits of well-known brands in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, since 2017.

The division of labor among the suspects was clear-cut, including buying materials, processing and packaging, and finance, say prosecutors.

To make the counterfeits look similar to the real items, they bought genuine products as samples from Hong Kong and found similar cloth, buttons and metals.

Many people have bought fake products from them online, especially viaWeChat, say officials.

Further investigation is underway and judgment will be announced soon, the court said.