Hanoi - Vietnamese police arrested three people on charges of running counterfeit money from China to Vietnam, a police official said Wednesday.

The three were arrested Wednesday morning in Hanoi's Tay Ho district. Police found 300 million dong (17,000 dollars) in counterfeit 500,000 dong bills hidden in their clothes.

"It took us about one month to break the ring," said Colonel Nguyen Ba Hung, director of Tay Ho's police department.

Hung said police learned of a syndicate transferring large amounts of counterfeit money from other countries into Vietnam at the end of November. Detectives learned the three ringleaders were working with contacts in China.

Hung said the counterfeiters were en route to meet contacts who would help them distribute the money when police arrested them.

Arrests for counterfeit money have been on the rise this year in Vietnam.

In June police in Vinh Phuc, north of Hanoi, arrested two women with 100 million dong (5800 dollars) in counterfeit bills.

In September Vietnam sentenced Chinese citizen Guo Jin Hua, 65, to death for smuggling counterfeit money. Her 35 accomplices received sentences ranging from two years to life in prison.

According to Vietnamese law, making or circulating counterfeit notes is subject to between three and seven years of imprisonment.

In serious cases, violators can be sentenced to life imprisonment or capital punishment. (dpa)