Police in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, arrested three suspects who allegedly traded thousands of tons of medical waste that was later processed into disposable tableware and fake brand-name toys.

Nanjing police in August received reports from residents that piles of medical waste were stored at a dump site near Gujia village, including used needles, glass bottles and infusion tubes.

They later found that the three suspects had sold more than 3,000 metric tons of medical waste, which they had collected from hospitals in Nanjing since the beginning of 2012. They earned more than 40 million yuan ($5.8 million) from selling the waste.