BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Public security authorities across China have handled around 22,000 criminal cases related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic as of Monday, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

A total of 4,260 suspects implicated in the cases have been detained, Vice Minister Du Hangwei said at a press conference in Beijing Wednesday.

So far, police have cracked 688 cases involving the production and sale of counterfeit and shoddy protective materials, with more than 1,560 suspects apprehended and over 31 million fake or inferior face masks seized, Du said.

A total of 49 police officers and auxiliary police officers across the country sacrificed their lives while on duty during the epidemic outbreak, said Du.

He added that public security agencies will continue to crack down on crimes, including interfering with transportation and logistics, price gouging and disrupting the production order.