The photo show the fake jellyfish (L) and the real jellyfish (R). 

Police in eastern China's Huzhou cracked a case involving fake jellyfish, according to a news report in Hangzhou on May 7. 

In late April, police officers at the Huzhou Public Security Bureau received a tip that a man surnamed Yuan and the other two people had been making and selling fake jellyfish at a farmer's market in Huzhou for almost a year. 

The police seized more than 150 kilograms of artificial jellyfish at the farmer's market on April 22. 

The three suspects started making the fake delicacy with sodium alginate, calcium chloride and aluminum sulfate in June of 2015. Since then, they have made more than 70,000 yuan in profits.

Yuan was aware that the fake jellyfish could be unhealthy or even dangerous . However, the production cost of the artificial jellyfish was less than half the cost of processing real jellyfish. In addition, less time is required to produce artificial jellyfish than is needed to process real ones. 

Yuan confessed that he had learned the trade from a "master" surnamed Jia in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. 

After hearing Yuan’s confession, the Huzhou police officers went to Changzhou and arrested Jia, along with his two accomplices. The officers also seized 1 ton of fake jellyfish. 

Within a year, Jia and his assistants were capable of producing more than 10 tons of fake jellyfish for a profit of more than 100,000 yuan.

An investigation into the whereabouts of the remaining fake jellyfish is underway. 

Police officers bust the fake jellyfish production area.

The fake jellyfish are made from sodium alginate, calcium chloride and aluminum sulfate.