Frustrated Chinese counterfeiters have declared war on a ring of corrupt officials they have been paying thousands of dollars to in backhanders for years.
A group of 30 enterprises involved in selling and producing fake cigarettes in a town in the southern province of Fujian have revealed a list of the senior officials they have been paying "protection fees" to since 1997.
The list - published by the official Xinhua news agency and in Chinese newspapers yesterday - reads like a who's who of law enforcement in Guanbei town in Zhaojan County in Fujian.
It is a serious embarrassment to the government which has been under huge pressure to fight corruption across the country.
The list shows that payments ranging from $12,000 (£10,500) down have been made to senior officials including Mr Wu Genyuan, the Communist Party law committee secretary and head of the anti-counterfeit committee in Zhaojan County. He received $10,000 in payments.
Mr Xu Ruizhang, the Deputy Director of Zhaojan County and the deputy head of the anticounterfeiting group was paid a total of $12,000.
Others on the list include senior police officers in several police stations in Zhaojan county, town directors, and industry and commerce officials.
According to yesterday's reports, two of the main counterfeit cigarette producers formed a "fake producers" association in 1997 to give protection money to officials in turn for having a blind eye thrown on their activities.
The association took membership fees from smaller producers. The levy was set according to their production scale and the money was used to open key links with relevant departments.
The association even rented an office and had its own accountant and cashiers. A full record of payments was kept and has now come back to haunt senior officials.
According to Xinhua, 15 people from Zhaoan County have already been punished. They include Wu Genyuan who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
China is making some strides towards tackling serious corruption with two investigations involving billions of dollars currently under way. The investigations have so far resulted in several executions.