(Yicai Global) Feb. 28 -- Chain drugstore Beijing Jinghai Kangbaixin Medicine's Chairman Li Dong is alleged to have peddled over 580,000 fake 3M masks to illegally profiteer amid the novel coronavirus pneumonia, and the Beijing police took him and another 21 persons involved into custody several days ago, finance media the Economic Observer reported on its website today.

Li tasked his accomplices to buy over 580,000 bogus 3M masks in eastern Shandong province late last month and sold these in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province adjacent to Beijing via multiple channels such as the Moments function on Tencent Holdings popular WeChat messaging app, per the report. The mask sales had yielded more than CNY4.3 million (USD613,383) as of the time the crime came to light.

Authorities fielded many complaints about the masks poor quality from consumers soon after they bought them. Food and drug inspectors with Beijing's Market Supervision Administration and the environment, food, drug and tourism security unit of the city's Public Security Bureau detailed a squad to launch an investigation on Jan. 29.

Prosecutors issued a warrant for the arrest of 22 suspects, including Li, that charged them with selling fake and substandard goods on Feb. 10. These authorities concluded their investigation and transferred the case to the procuratorate in the Chinese capital's eastern Beijing Chaoyang district for prosecution on Feb. 21.

Set up in November 2004, Jinghai Kangbaixin Medicine is a well-known pharmacy chain  with over 60 branches in the city that has more than 10 subsidiaries. Cowell Health under the Beijing-based global investment conglomerate Hillhouse Capital Group bought a 51 percent stake in the firm to become its controlling shareholder in August 2017.

Editor: Ben Armour