Chinese police have put a huge dent in the production of fake goods by arresting 73 people who were part of a gang making and selling counterfeit Louis Vuitton and Hermes bags.

The police started digging into the criminal organization in January 2012, Xinhua state news agency said. The gang is reported to have produced and sold almost a million fake bags.

In a bid to tackle the massive piracy and intellectual property issue the Chinese “Ministry [of Public Security] exchanged the information with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and proposed a joint investigation," the report says.

The investigation uncovered several manufacturing and sales sites in China’s eastern provinces of Fujian and Anhui.

In a special operation police confiscated over 20,000 fake bags meant for sale while 37 illegal production and sales sites were closed down, Xinhua says referring to a statement from the Ministry of Public Security.

China has a reputation for brand piracy the stealing of copyright material and manufacturing fake products ranging from DVD films to clothes and medicine, Reuters reports.

International governments, including the US, have tried to persuade China to be more serious in dealing with these sorts of problems.

In April America added China together with Russia on its annual list of countries where piracy and intellectual property issues are being worst dealt with.

• A Permanent Economic Emergency