BEIJING - Beijing police said Monday that 29 people have been detained in six separate cases involving the production and sale of counterfeit facial masks in the Chinese capital.

In one case, the city's public security bureau said they busted two inter-provincial rings and seized more than 170,000 counterfeit masks. In another case, reports from members of the public brought to light a scheme that sold facial masks on the instant messaging app WeChat.

Facial masks have been in tight supply in many Chinese cities since the novel coronavirus outbreak showed signs of escalation in late January.

A spokesperson with the bureau said they would crack down on the manufacturing and sale of bootleg medical materials to "assist the battle against the epidemic and safeguard social stability."