No Major Ingredients Like Uwhang or Musk
Made from Low-Cost Herbal Powder Containing Hazardous Substances
Cost per Pill 185 Won...Hundreds of Times Markup Taken
A group of 26 people who manufactured and sold large quantities of fake Angungwoohwanghwan, known as a special remedy for the prevention and treatment of diseases such as stroke and cerebrovascular accident, were arrested by Chinese public security.
Fake Angong Wuhuang Pills mass-produced and distributed in China. [Photo source=Captured from Geukmok Sinmul]
According to local media reports including China Central Television (CCTV) on the 27th, the Baishan Public Security Bureau of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province recently arrested 26 people who made fake Angungwoohwanghwan and distributed it throughout China via e-commerce platforms. They also shut down 18 locations including manufacturing factories and warehouses, and seized 500,000 boxes of fake Angungwoohwanghwan.
The fake Angungwoohwanghwan they manufactured and sold amounted to 120 million yuan (approximately 22.2 billion KRW).
They put low-cost herbal powder into electric rice cookers, boiled it, then mixed it with honey. After it solidified, they rubbed it with wood to form pills.
The production cost of one fake Angungwoohwanghwan pill made this way was less than 1 yuan (about 185 KRW), but the group packaged it luxuriously and sold it online, making profits dozens to hundreds of times higher.
Despite this, the price was less than half that of genuine Angungwoohwanghwan, and it sold like hotcakes.
Baishan Public Security began an investigation in February after receiving a report that Angungwoohwanghwan purchased online seemed to be counterfeit.
When the public security raided the production site in Anguo, Hubei Province, they found unidentified herbal powder, honey, wax, and other materials in a dirty and messy room.
During this process, it was also confirmed that the group, led by Mr. Li Mo residing in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, established a manufacturing factory in Anguo, Hebei Province, and built an illegal sales network distributing to more than 20 provinces nationwide.
The public security stated, "The fake Angungwoohwanghwan contained none of the main ingredients such as bezoar or musk, and instead, hazardous substances were detected. Medicines should be purchased through official channels, and suspicious medicines should be reported immediately."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
