Police in eastern China said on Monday they have smashed an operation that made more than 20 million yuan ($3 million) from selling fake Herbalife products. Police said the ringleader, identified only as Ding, 36, had employed people in their early 20s from Guangdong to produce hundreds of cans of fake health food a day. He had confessed to producing fake health foods between 2007 and 2009, but had dodged legal penalties, according to Wu Jianfei, a Suzhou police officer involved in the case. However, on his release, he reunited with Ding and they started making fake Herbalife products and selling them for about 300 yuan a can, Wu said. Ding told police he copied the texture and flavor of the Herbalife products with protein powder and cookies, as well as other food additives.