China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced Wednesday it has confiscated fake banknotes with a total face value of 684 million yuan (100.1 mln U.S. dollars) in less than eight months.

In a special campaign launched by the ministry on Jan. 20, which is expected to last for ten months, police cracked more than 1,800 cases involving forged notes, a 50 percent increase over last year's total, said Zhang Tao, deputy director of the Economic Crime Investigation Bureau of the MPS.

The official said a large amount of fake banknotes were intercepted in the process of forgery, transportation and distribution, and the amount of banknotes in circulation was decreasing.

The campaign has also destroyed 24 underground bases of fake banknotes forgery and processing, three times last year's total, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 10, 2009)