Police in east China's Anhui Province have arrested nine people for suspected involvement in a counterfeit basketball manufacturing and online sales network, the provincial public security department said Tuesday.

The 32-year-old suspect, surnamed Shen, conspired with others to set up several manufacturing plants in Anhui and in neighboring Jiangsu Province.

Without authorization, he hired workers to produce basketballs illegally carrying famous sports brands such as Nike, NBA, Adidas, and Spalding, and then sold them to other provinces via online platforms like Taobao or WeChat.

Cooperating with police in Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Heilongjiang, Henan and Guangdong provinces, the Anhui police seized 8,300 fake basketballs, with a value of more than 50 million yuan (7.85 million U.S. dollars).

China has toughened its stance against intellectual property infringement and fake products through a variety of measures, but challenges have emerged with the rise of e-commerce.

According to a report delivered to Chinese lawmakers earlier this month, only 58.7 percent of items sold online were genuine or of good quality last year.

The report, heard at a plenary meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee on Nov. 2, urged accelerated legislation in e-commerce, improved supervision and clarification of consumers' rights and sellers' responsibilities.

(Xinhua)