Six people were arrested in Wenzhou, a boomtown in east China's Zhejiang Province, on Tuesday for allegedly producing and selling fake military vehicle plates.

Military and public security forces raided an underground workshop on Wednesday, seizing a large number of tools, moulds and semi-manufactured fake military plates, a source with the Beijing Military Command said.

"This was the first time we have tracked down a manufacturer of fake military plates since the nationwide campaign was launched last year," the source said.

Chinese authorities have seized hundreds of bogus military vehicles and more than 1,000 stolen and fake military license plates last year.

In China, cars with military plates, which differ from ordinary vehicle plates in color and numbers, are legally entitled to privileges, including exemption from road tolls and parking fees.

Police officers are sometimes reluctant to pull over drivers of military cars even if the drivers are violating traffic rules.

The military source said the underground workshop was operated by a villager named Sun Shaoyin and his two brothers. They had allegedly been producing and trading fake military license plate since 2006.

No details were given as how many plates had been made and sold.

Officials with the Beijing Military Command said they discovered evidence pointing to the workshop in Zhejiang Province while investigating cases involving a large number of bogus plates seized in Shanxi Province.

Those found guilty of the unauthorized production and trading of military vehicle plates face a maximum of three years in prison and fines, according to China's Criminal Law.

Source: Xinhua