Law enforcement authorities in China announced seizures numbers for counterfeit cigarettes.

From the government’s official news agency Xinhua:

A total of 9.28 billion counterfeit cigarettes were seized nationwide in 2007, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) announced here on Wednesday.

 Law enforcement agencies raided 3,876 counterfeit cigarette warehouses and rounded up 7,026 people in connection with the false brands, prosecuting 3,492 people, said STMA head Jiang Chengkang.

The 9.28 billion counterfeit cigarettes seized in 2007 is higher then the 9.07 billion seized in 2006.

The counterfeit cigarettes market is valued at $4 billion.